


A Masterpiece Still In The Making

by howdoyouget



Series: Masterpiece Verse [1]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alchemy, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brother-Sister Relationships, Canon-Typical Behavior, Canon-Typical Violence, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, F/M, Family, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Human Transmutation, I'm doing my best, Lullabies, M/M, Military, Minor Character Death, Minor Original Character(s), Original Character(s), honestly this whole thing was inspired by wanderer's lullaby by adriana figueroa, i like to think it's wholesome, sis is tryin', we are really hopin' this works out
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:33:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 133,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23996074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/howdoyouget/pseuds/howdoyouget
Summary: Rebecca Harper has yet to find her place in the world. After an alchemical accident took her father's life, she finds herself in East City, intending to just settle his debts, but somehow ending up employed as a State Alchemist and partnered with one Edward Elric. Surprising herself, she can't find it in herself to be upset about it.
Relationships: Alphonse Elric & Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric & Original Character(s), Edward Elric/Original Character(s), Roy Mustang & Original Character(s)
Series: Masterpiece Verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1984319
Comments: 36
Kudos: 39





	1. monachopsis

**Author's Note:**

> hello, my dears, and welcome! this has been a long time coming, and honestly, quarantine was just what i needed to get my butt in gear to finally get all these ideas i've had concerning the basis of this story out on paper (or on the computer, i guess).
> 
> honestly, the entire premise of this story came from me listening to the song 'wanderer's lullaby' by adriana figeuroa (which i obviously do not own). it reminded me a lot of ed and al, and i came up with this girl who heard that song from her loved one and keeps it in her heart all through her journey, and this story is what eventually came out of my late night musings. i won't promise it will remain unedited, but here's the initial attempt.
> 
> posted: may 3rd, 2020

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, my dears, and welcome! this has been a long time coming, and honestly, quarantine was just what i needed to get my butt in gear to finally get all these ideas i've had concerning the basis of this story out on paper (or on the computer, i guess).
> 
> honestly, the entire premise of this story came from me listening to the song 'wanderer's lullaby' by adriana figeuroa (which i obviously do not own). it reminded me a lot of ed and al, and i came up with this girl who heard that song from her loved one and keeps it in her heart all through her journey, and this story is what eventually came out of my late night musings. i won't promise it will remain unedited, but here's the initial attempt.
> 
> monachopsis (noun)- the subtle but persistent feeling of being out of place

Sitting in front of Colonel Roy Mustang’s desk, Rebecca Harper had never felt smaller. She resisted the urge to lean away from his intense stare until he raised a brow and informed her, “I knew your father from the academy. He was one of my teachers.” He paused, seemingly waiting for a response, then continued when she just nodded. “You won’t be getting any special treatment from me for it.”

Becca bit her lip. “I know, sir.” She stared down into her lap, feeling the calm before the storm as Mustang stood and walked around the desk, stopping behind her.

“Are you planning on telling me why you did it?” he said coolly.

Becca flinched, inhaling sharply. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Mustang slammed his hand onto the desk, making Becca jump. “That is not what I asked, Harper!” he snapped.

Feeling herself begin to shake while her lip quivered, Becca choked back a sob. Her father never let her cry, and she was sure her new superior officer would be the same. “He told me to,” she confessed weakly. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the memory that kept fighting to the surface.

The colonel froze. Becca looked up, taking in his shocked face. She’d surprised him.

“He’d heard about Fullmetal- what everyone thought he did,” she continued. “He wanted that, but he- he must have misunderstood-” She reached up, wiping her eyes to try and hide her tears. "He wanted it to be me, who- who-"

She recoiled when she felt a hand come down on her shoulder. “That’s enough,” Mustang said, then repeated quieter, “That’s enough.” The colonel moved to sit back down in his chair, then rested his chin on outstretched fingers. Becca continued to shudder, slowing her breathing until she could bear to look up and look her superior in the eye.

“I’m sorry,” she said again before Mustang held a hand up. He rummaged in his papers until he found a manilla folder, which he passed over the distance between them. Becca pulled the papers out, then shook out the silver pocket watch.

“It’s noon. Go get something to eat and calm down,” he instructed sternly, leaning back in his desk chair. “Be back here in an hour to receive orders.”

Becca stood, the dismissal clear as day. “Thank you, sir.” She bit her lip and stood to leave before Mustang’s voice stopped her.

“Youngest female State Alchemist ever. Your father would be proud.”

Becca took a shaky breath and shot him a bitter smile. “No, he wouldn’t be, sir. He’d be mad someone else got there first.”

As she opened the door, she heard Mustang say, “I never liked your father, Illusion.”

She looked over her shoulder, then nodded and mumbled, “That’s understandable, sir.”

\---

Even though Mustang had told her to eat something, Becca’s stomach turned just at the thought of food. She’d barely been eating since the transmutation, normally having two small meals at the beginning and the end of the day, but any time she tried to eat any more, she’d found herself over a trashcan within the hour. So, after washing her face in the bathroom, Becca plodded outside to sink onto a bench outside Eastern command. Her fingers curled against the watch she’d slipped into her pocket. Her codename flew through her head.  _ The Illusion Alchemist. _ She clipped it onto her belt and checked the time, huffing when she realized how little time had passed.

Becca relaxed for a moment, then felt her heart drop when she realized her certificate was the only paper she felt in her pocket. She patted around to her other pockets and sighed in relief as she gripped the only two other papers she’d taken from home: the letter she’d received from the military demanding her presence and a picture of a younger version of herself sitting alongside her stepmother and half brother. She pulled out the picture, gazing over the happy trio that once had been. William had come here years ago, she knew, but he’d never come home, nor had he ever written. She’d been upset, of course, but after Louisa had died, she just wanted him back, moreso now than ever.

“...And of course, the bastard’s probably just calling me in to yell at me over my report,” Becca heard someone complain. She looked up and her eyes widened upon seeing the small figure draped in a red cloak crossing the courtyard with someone in a suit of armor.

The echoey voice from the armor said something in response, but Becca was too busy staring to listen.

_ That’s him, _ she thought blankly.  _ That’s the Fullmetal Alchemist. _

She knew people in East City tended to think that the armored man was the Fullmetal Alchemist, but Becca’s father had drilled it into her head that he was hardly older than her and being any less than he was rumored to be was unacceptable. She stood up, about to go and meet him before she came to her senses and quickly sat back down.  _ He has nothing to do with you anymore, _ she told herself firmly.  _ Leave him alone. You’re here to work off the debts and go home. _ Shaking her head, she bent forward and rested her head in her hands, contemplating where she’d find a bed for the night until she was due to return to the colonel.

\---

Becca paused outside of the outer office. She could hear the usual hustle and bustle of an office through the door, but she picked up on shouting as well. She raised her hand and knocked twice before being welcomed in by the youngest member of Mustang’s team, the bespectacled man who’d been tinkering with a radio when she was ushered in by Mustang the first time. She gave him a polite smile, then looked over when there was a loud thud from the inner office. Becca raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth to ask a question, but was cut off by someone yelling.

"-definitely not someone like  _ that _ !”

Becca paled, realizing both who was talking and who he was probably talking about. Mustang murmured something on the other side of the door, as well as the echoey voice Becca recalled from outside, but Becca was practically rooted in place. The others in the office seemed to have noticed as well and shot her pitying looks, but Becca’s nerves were already beginning to turn to anger boiling in her stomach. Who was Edward Elric to judge her? They’d committed the same sin! Lieutenant Hawkeye glanced at her and gestured for her to approach the door to Mustang’s private office. She knocked once, making the voices inside go quiet. 

Hawkeye opened the door quickly. “Rebecca is here for her orders,” she said firmly, leaving no room for argument.

Mustang, clearly at the end of his rope with the blonde in front of him, sighed. “Illusion, take a seat.” He looked up and requested, “You as well, Fullmetal.”

Becca nodded, making her way to one of the couches without a word and practically biting her tongue when Edward Elric shot her a glare. The armored man had turned towards her as well, but Becca couldn’t tell what he was thinking due to his covered face. Elric stomped over to the other couch and kicked his feet up onto the table between them.

“Now I’m sure you two don’t want to be here any more than I want you here,” Mustang said. “So let’s get this out of the way.” He flipped through a file nonchalantly before looking up at them. Becca felt her stomach lurch with anxiety a millisecond before he declared, “As Fullmetal has already been informed, I’ve assigned you two to be partners.”

Becca choked. “Excuse me?”

Mustang looked infuriatingly unsurprised. “You’re about the same age and I think you two will work well together once you get to know each other.” He gave them both a look. “I will  _ not _ be hearing any arguments right now. If you go on a few missions and it’s not working, we can discuss it then.” He turned his level gaze over to a fuming Elric. “For now, I’m still working on digging up a lead for you and Alphonse, so feel free to explore the city a bit,” he said condescendingly. Becca made a face at his tone. Even though she didn’t like Elric, she knew how frustrating it could be to be spoken to like that.

The boy gnashed his teeth in response, looking like he was about to scream at Mustang again. Becca looked over towards Hawkeye, but her eyes caught on the armored man, assumedly Alphonse, who had moved to stand sentry next to the Lieutenant. Despite his covered face, Becca got the strangest feeling he would be smiling at her. She smiled in what she hoped was a response before Elric appeared to get his temper under control and settled for snapping, “We don’t have time to explore. Al and I will be in the library,”, storming out.

Alphonse moved to follow, then called out after Elric, startling Becca once she was finally able to hear his voice clearly.

“Sorry, sir,” a distinctively child-like voice said quickly, giving the colonel a bow and followed the boy.

Becca stared after them, then shifted her stare toward Mustang. “Wha-?”

“That, unfortunately, is not my place,” he said. Becca was about to protest, push for more information, but she saw the tired look in his eyes and opted to back off.

She gave a polite nod and said, “Thank you for your time, Colonel Mustang,” then made a quick exit, hoping she’d be able to catch Elric before he got too far.

\---

Luckily, Becca was able to track down both Elric and his companion exactly where he said they’d be: the East City Library. Becca had passed it on her way to the command center, but she hadn’t had time to check it out yet. She was thanking whoever was upstairs that she didn’t pack a suitcase, given that there hadn’t even been time to drop anything off at a hotel, but that did mean her long coat was growing heavier the longer she wasn’t able to take it off.

She didn’t catch up to Elric until he had already reached the library, given that she had to ask for directions from several passersby, then had to ask an attendant where him and his companion had gone. She approached the area they’d taken over and leaned against a table nearby. Elric didn’t bother to acknowledge her, but Alphonse looked up and inclined his head towards her.

“You don’t have to stand there,” he said invitingly, moving a few papers out of the way to clear a spot at the table for her.

Becca gave him a tight smile, swinging her coat off and sitting down before sticking her hand out. “Rebecca Harper,” she said, choosing not to comment on the owner of the voice yet.

The armor creaked as he shook her hand. “Alphonse Elric.”

Upon hearing his last name, Becca raised an eyebrow and asked, “Elric?”

Elric’s face swiveled towards her and he snapped, “He’s my  _ younger _ brother.”

Becca nodded slowly as he went back to his work. She looked over at Alphonse, wondering how exactly such a young person wore such a large suit of armor, then decided not to ask and let her eyes fall to her lap. She hadn’t brought any books or notes, so she stood up, intending to escape the awkward silence for a few minutes by searching around for something to read.

“Excuse me,” she said, Louisa’s voice in her head reminding her to keep her manners. No one responded, both boys too involved in whatever they were reading, and Becca sighed and hurried away. She finally slowed down, strolling down one of the aisles toward a large window overlooking the streets of East City. It wasn’t busy, given that almost everyone was either working or at school, but a few slow moving stragglers from the lunch hour remained. She was about to turn back to the books when someone caught her eye. Becca’s eyes narrowed as she tried to get a better look at the blonde man leaning against a building across the street. He seemed to be scanning the library windows as she watched until he looked in Becca’s direction. Becca couldn’t see his eyes from this distance, but she got the odd feeling that he was watching her as well. Something nagged at her in her mind, but before she could look closer, the man stood up straight and started walking away, leaving Becca staring after him. She slowly went back to the books, unable to shake the nagging in her head until she had a book in her hand and was settling down to read in silence with the Elric brothers.

\---

Hours later, the trio was basically kicked out at closing time, with Becca and Edward still having barely spoken a word between them. Becca and Alphonse had conversed civilly during breaks Becca took, but the elder Elric had hardly looked up. Becca had asked Alphonse if he was ignoring her, but he’d assured her that, even if he was upset, he was normally like that when reading. However, it quickly became significantly more uncomfortable to walk in silence than it had been to sit in the same manner until Alphonse broke it by asking, “Where are you planning on staying, Rebecca? You’re welcome to come to the barracks with us if you want, but I don’t think the Colonel will mind if we split up if you’ve already got a room.”

Becca shoved her hands into her pockets and silently thanked Alphonse. “No, I went straight from the train station to command for my test. I was probably going to try the barracks out if you guys don’t mind me tagging along”

Elric looked over at her, then shrugged, allowing for Alphonse to swoop in and assure Becca that that was no problem.

The group went quiet again and Becca avoided looking over by looking pretty much everywhere else. She felt the hair rising on the back of her neck, the familiar sensation of someone watching her. She glanced out of the corner of her eye and jumped when she recognized the same blonde man from earlier. He stood in an alley slightly ahead of them and, this close, Becca was able to see more of his features. After a moment of confusion, her jaw dropped. She froze, letting the Elrics pass her before they realized and turned around.

“Rebecca?”

“Harper?”

“Holy shit…” Becca whispered. She knew if she was holding anything, it would have fallen from her grip, but as it was, the man turned and Becca took off after him, calling out, “Will? Will!”

Becca chased the blonde through the alleys of the city, unsure of what Edward and Alphonse had done after her sudden exit, but too caught up in confusion to turn back. “William!” she shouted. The figure didn’t respond, so Becca steeled herself and kept running. The figure sprinted into what looked like an abandoned house and Becca skidded to a stop. She hesitated outside, looking back over her shoulder to where she thought she could hear someone calling her name, then set her jaw and ducked into the house, making sure her eyes were scanning the darkness as they adjusted. “Will?” she called again, quieter this time.

“Look who finally found her way to the city,” a low voice said from the shadows.

Becca’s eyes filled with tears as she recognized the voice. Even after so many years, the cadence was still the same. She stepped forward, looking around wildly to find where her brother had disappeared to. “Will, I-”

“Couldn’t get Mommy and Daddy to come along?” he asked, his voice taking on a mocking tone.

Becca’s face fell. “What?”

A tall figure stepped out of the shadow of a large mattress that had been leaned against the wall. Becca stepped backwards. She knew the man was definitely her brother. William’s sandy blonde hair was longer than she remembered, and he was definitely standing more confidently than he had when he left their home, but what sealed the deal were his eyes. His blue eyes were exact copies of those of his mother, the thing that constantly reminded Becca that she wasn’t a part of their family, not really. “Did you miss me?” Will asked, crossing his arms with a smirk. “Or was Dad just happy to see me go so he could focus all his attention on his genius child?” He walked closer to Becca, circling her like a vulture. “And of course, my mom must have been glad she’d already let you into her family. A replacement just ready to go, ready to make the family proud once I failed.”

Becca bit her lip. “Will…”

Will cut her off, crossing in front of her again. “You’ll write to them to let them know, right? Assuming they get mail from East City.”

“What do you mean?” Becca asked, her heart skipping a beat. Her father was horrible, but surely he hadn’t received letters from Will and kept them to himself. Louisa had been devastated, Becca remembered. Even if he hadn’t loved her, he wouldn’t have put her through that.

“‘What do you mean?’” Will mimicked, tilting his head innocently at her, then snapping, “I never got a response, so why the  _ hell _ should you?”

The blood drained from Becca’s face. “Wait, Will-”

“Shut up!” Will bellowed. Before Becca could react, she felt his hand connect with her face. Her hand flew up to cup the now stinging area of her face. She knew she looked silly, her eyes probably betraying the shock rolling through her mind, but she couldn’t find it in herself to hide at the moment. “I’ll bet you’ve had everyone listening to you, so shut your mouth!”

“Will, you don’t understand-”

“I said, shut up!” he yelled. This time, Becca was ready and dodged his swing. Instead of backing off, Becca saw a glimpse of Will’s old, competitive grin, now darker than she’d ever seen it, then took a step back. “Oh, you got some guts too,” he observed before charging forward. Becca flinched backwards, but touched her hands together and reached for the wall nearby. She was disappointed to find that there wasn’t anything sturdier than wood within reach, but formed a plain staff and spun it in time to block the first hit.

There was a brief moment when William looked surprised, but then he just bared his teeth and touched two of the rings Becca noticed decorating his fingers, alchemic energy crackling around his hands. He formed all the rings into claws, brandishing them at her.

“I don’t want to fight you,” Becca said, trying to back away. “Please, just let me explain-”

This time, Will didn’t even respond, just lunging forward and swiping at her. Becca squeaked and danced out of the way. She swung at him this time, successfully making contact and knocking him away, but he was quick in response, rolling to his feet. Becca set her jaw firmly, sinking into a fighting stance. William did the same, but charged with a combative shout. Becca met him halfway, aiming to go for his legs and take him down quickly, but she’d forgotten that she’d trained with Will since they were kids. Of course, he’d know all of her moves after they’d developed their styles almost in sync, so he saw her coming and ducked down, tossing her easily over his back. She flew through the air, then slammed into the ground. She rolled into a crouch just in time to intercept a strike from Will’s metal claws and fling his hands away from her face, then jumped up and caught his arm again, twisting it behind his back, careful to avoid his hands.

“Now would you please just listen? Dad-”

“I’m done with that bastard!” William snapped, thrashing to try and reach Becca. She exhaled quickly and kicked him away, taking the moment he was disoriented to catch her breath. As he clambered to his feet, both siblings paused when they heard uneven footsteps running closer. William looked up at her and spat, “One of your little buddies come to check up on you?”

Before Becca could answer, the door slammed open, revealing Edward Elric, breathing heavily and looking furious. “What the hell, Harper?” he demanded, looking straight at her. He didn’t seem to notice William, and Becca’s distraction obviously gave her brother the moment he needed. He charged at Becca, then, as she turned to intercept him, stepped on the tail of her coat, effectively jerking her off balance. Becca tripped, getting tangled in her coat as Elric jumped back and asked, “And who the fuck are you?”

Becca hit the ground at the same time that William laughed derisively and asked, “The Fullmetal Alchemist? Of course, you made my parents like you, you have to be able to make friends with everyone!”

“Get out of here, Elric-” Becca grunted, struggling to escape the tangled mess of fabric. She’d  _ known _ that the too-big coat would cause a problem, but she hadn’t anticipated that it would be on her first day.

“Yeah,  _ Elric _ , this is a family matter,” Will growled.

Elric looked surprised, then his face sank into utterly unimpressed. “I’m not leaving!” He clapped his hands to form a lance out of a wayward pipe. “Out of the way, Harper.”

Becca made a face, finally getting out of her coat. She jumped up to continue the fight and demanded, “Elric, come on. I can do this, go get the MPs or someone!” She didn’t move, knowing that Elric couldn’t attack her brother without risking hurting her. 

“No way in hell!” he snapped. “I’ve been doing this, just let me- watch it, Harper!”

Too late, Becca realized that, during their bickering, Will had slowly bent down. She looked to his right hand just in time to see a transmutation circle he’d scratched into the layer of dirt on the floor before it activated, creating two separate chunks of rising stone. One shot towards Elric, successfully isolating each of his hands, preventing transmutations, while the other effortlessly tossed Becca high enough into the air that coming down knocked the wind out of her. Becca rolled over onto her belly, trying to push herself up while gasping for air, until Will knocked her down again with a kick. He grabbed one of her arms and kneeled on her wrist, restraining her easily while his other knee rested on her back. She could hear Elric struggling as she tried to throw her brother off, but couldn’t twist her head far enough around to see him.

“Will, come on, we can talk about this-”

“No more talking!” Will ordered. “God, all you ever did was talk! Talk your way into my house, my family-”

“That is not how it happened and you know it,” Becca argued.

“Quiet!” he shouted, digging his knee further into her back. He stopped for a moment, then Becca felt his weight shift. “I am not listening to you anymore, and neither will anyone else,” he promised. Before Becca could even try to defend herself, she heard the sounds of a transmutation and started to panic. This, however, did not stop William from wrapping his hands around her neck and starting to squeeze. Her breath immediately caught, and she flailed wildly in an attempt to escape.

“Harper!” Elric shouted. “Dammit, come on!”

Becca was unable to respond as she felt Will squeezing harder. His rings dug into her flesh, which she was sure would leave lesions, but apparently, he didn’t care at the moment. Her attempts to throw him off slowed as dark spots started to appear in her vision. She wasn’t sure how long he’d been on top of her, but she knew that, right now, it was less about fighting back and more about fighting to stay conscious. She kept fading in and out, her head bobbing, but if she passed out in earnest, she was as good as dead. Her eyes fluttered shut and she could hear her gasps for air becoming weaker until, suddenly, his weight was knocked off and Becca found herself on the ground, gasping like a fish out of water, trying to take in as much air as she could.

“Rebecca,” she heard through her coughs. “Rebecca, can you hear me?”

_ I know that voice, _ she told herself, oxygen-deprived brain trying to put a face to the voice. It was a woman, but it wasn’t Louisa… not her mother either, Mom was still in Adethal… a blue uniform floated into her vision, which snapped Becca out of her haze for long enough to identify the speaker. She tried to greet Lieutenant Hawkeye, but couldn’t get through the word. Hawkeye appeared to understand, though, and helped her to sit up. She was careful to pull Becca to face her, but she couldn’t stop Will from shouting behind her.

“Maybe if I get rid of you, Dad’ll answer a letter about that!”

Becca glared at him, coughed, and managed to croak, “He’s dead-” before descending into a coughing fit again, feeling like something had lodged itself in her throat, but she knew that wasn’t the case. She choked out, “Louisa too-”, then curled up, bowing her head, hiding from the verbal onslaught she knew was coming.

Shocked silent for just a moment, Will stopped. However, once he regained himself, he appeared more enraged than before. “You LIAR!”

Becca curled up tighter. She felt the Lieutenant’s hand come to rest on her shoulder, a weak link to ground her to reality, but an appreciated one nonetheless. William continued to berate her as the MPs who had stormed the building attempted to get him under control. “You traitorous  _ bitch _ ! You just want me out of the way so you can have  _ my mother _ all to yourself!” The poor soldiers tried dragging him away, but he dug his feet into the floor in resistance.

Mustang approached Will with little patience ( _ Had he just gotten there? _ Becca thought vaguely, feeling a headache forming as she tried to remember), staring him down without fear. “William Harper, I presume?”

Will spat at his feet, so Mustang looked to Becca, still trying to catch her breath on the ground next to Hawkeye. Becca nodded, hoping he could understand her silently begging him to not treat her brother too harshly. Mustang rolled his eyes, but it seemed he got the message since he just ordered, “Take him outside. Keep an eye on him until you get him to headquarters.”

As he was pulled away, Will sent one last venomous glare towards Becca, who wilted. For the first time, she noticed Alphonse nearby, drawing a circle to release Edward from the stone holding him captive, as well as the rest of Mustang’s team lingering at the borders of the scene. Mustang himself jogged over, lowering himself to the ground and asking, “Are you alright, Illusion?”

“Yessir,” Becca answered quickly. She reached up to scratch at an itchy spot at the base of her neck, then winced when her hand came away with blood. “Nothing a few bandages can’t fix,” she rasped.

Mustang frowned. “I don’t trust where that man’s hands have been. Go get that cut checked out so it doesn’t get infected.” He stood, making sure that Edward had been freed before gesturing to the others. “Get a move on,” he called. “Once we get this paperwork filed, we can all go home. Fullmetal!”

Edward, newly unstuck, looked over angrily. Through the haze that still clouded her mind, Becca recognized the glint of automail through a wide gash in Elrics garish coat. She schooled her expression into a dignified straight face as her assumptions were all but confirmed, but she made eye contact with Elric, who set his jaw when he noticed her looking.

“Make sure Illusion gets a hospital to look at the cut on her neck before you head to the barracks, understood?”

“Whatever,” Edward said theatrically. “Go finish your oh-so-important paperwork!”

Hawkeye rose, helped Becca to her feet, then gave her one more pat on the shoulder before she followed the colonel. The others exchanged various goodnights and waves with her and the brothers before it was just the three of them left.

“You don’t have to escort me to the hospital or anything,” Becca said, sounding like she'd swallowed gravel. “Don’t delay your getting to sleep for me-”

“Rebecca, it’s no problem,” Alphonse assured her once again.

“Yeah, the bastard wants us to, so we might as well,” Edward said bluntly.

“Brother! We’re doing it because Rebecca is your partner, not because the colonel told us!”

“And either way,” Edward continued, looking firmly at Rebecca, eyes glinting. “I want to know what that was all about.” 

As he spoke, he grabbed Becca’s arm, tugging her out of the building. She opened her mouth to protest, but the words got caught in her throat when she saw Alphonse making his way over to them, carrying her coat. She suddenly realized that no one had done anything like that, thinking of her as someone worth helping, in well over a year, and shut her mouth.

“Rebecca?” Edward asked. “Do you need a second?”

Unwillingly, Becca felt her lips quirk into a smile. “No,” she rasped, then forced herself to swallow when Alphonse draped her coat over her shoulders. “Let’s just get out of here.”

\---

The next morning found Becca sitting up in a hospital bed, flipping through a stack of papers detailing her condition. The wound on her throat had been bandaged when she arrived and she’d been instructed to speak as little as possible to let her voice recover, but other than that, the hospital staff had mostly left her alone. Becca had insisted the Elrics go back to the barracks to find some actual beds, promising she wouldn’t run off, but they’d only complied when the nurses shooed them out to allow her to rest. However, the nurses hadn’t even brought in Becca’s breakfast when the door opened. She turned, expecting Edward Elric to come crashing in, demanding answers, then jumped when she saw Roy Mustang standing in the doorway.

“Sir!” she rasped, saluting quickly and trying to stumble out of bed.

“At ease, Illusion,” Mustang said. He pulled a chair over to the side of the bed, making sure to sit a respectful distance away from her even as she swung her legs over the side to fully face him. “Not quite the first day you were expecting, I’m sure. Certainly not a family reunion.”

Becca gave him a deadpan look. “Sir, as I’m sure you noticed, I really don’t have the voice for small talk right now. If you have questions, just go ahead and ask.”

Unfazed except for the tiniest hint of a sly smile, the colonel just continued. “Your brother had some colorful descriptions of you when he was interrogated last night. Care to explain?”

“I wasn’t my father’s only pupil,” Becca replied with a shrug. “I was just the one who listened to him.” She hesitated. “He’s probably the smarter sibling in that regard.” She looked up at Mustang, raising her chin proudly as her father had taught her even as she essentially begged for her brother’s life. “Please, sir, go easy on him. I- I know where he’s coming from. He’s lashing out- he’s hurt, it’s not fair to-”

Mustang stood up, all business professionalism again. Becca went silent.

“About that,” he said evenly. “Your brother managed to escape from custody late last night. We’re already working on tracking him down. However, despite his temper and attitude, Fullmetal is a combat specialist, much like you’re a stealth specialist. If William comes after you again, you two will both have a better chance of not getting your asses handed to you if you work together, so you need to collaborate with each other, understood?” Becca nodded quickly and he continued, “I talked to your doctor and he’s cleared you to leave after someone changes your bandages. I have an assignment for Fullmetal, so unless your wound got infected, you’ll be going as well. I’m expecting you three in my office tomorrow, no later than lunch.”

“Of course, sir.”

“Get some rest.”

“I will, sir.”

“Watch your back.”

“Colonel, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were worrying about me.”

Mustang side eyed her, then smirked as he turned away “A game of chess can’t be played until all the pawns are positioned, Harper.” He waved over his shoulder as the door swung shut, giving a far too jovial sounding farewell as he went.

\---

Becca had insisted that she didn’t need a hospital breakfast, so she’d checked herself out just as the sun was coming up. East City was quiet as she walked down main street towards the military barracks. She’d been surprised that neither Elric had busted their way into her room demanding answers, but, after considering it for a moment, she supposed it was early. She’d been an early bird all her life, so she made sure to take her time perusing the sleepy city, unable to help the feeling that she might be marching towards her death. It was still early when she reached the barracks and approached the front desk.

The man at the desk was clearly dozing until Becca coughed pointedly to get his attention. He jumped, then demanded, “Who’re you? What do you want?”

“Rebecca Harper, the Illusion Alchemist,” Becca said, thoroughly unimpressed by the guard’s annoyance. She flashed her watch and asked, “Which room is Edward Elric in?”

The man floundered for a moment, then pulled out a log. “Fullmetal is in room 41, uh- ma’am.”

“Thank you,” Becca said coolly, making her way to where a sign indicated the room would be. Her confident front faltered when she actually reached the door. She briefly considered changing her mind, going back to her predictable life in Adethal and never having to face the brothers again. Then she remembered that she was trapped in service for everything short of death for the foreseeable future and tilted her head back, suppressing a groan. She pasted on a solemn look and knocked firmly on the door, once, twice, three times.

She heard someone stumble towards the door and Edward Elric, gold eyes half lidded with his hair still ruffled in a bedhead. Becca noticed the automail arm she’d seen yesterday on full display, along with his opposite leg, but she didn’t stare or flinch, remembering his disgruntled expression at her noticing last night.

“Harper, why are you even up at…” He checked a clock in the room and turned back to her, “Six in the damn morning?”

Becca felt her cheeks go pink and she bit her lip. “Sorry, I forget not everyone is up this early. I can let you sleep a bit more if you’d like-”

Elric stepped aside, ushering her inside before he disappeared into an ensuite bathroom as he talked. “Nah, you’re already here and I’ve got a lot of questions.”

“Where’d Alphonse go?” Becca asked, perching on the stained couch near the door.

She could practically see Elric shrugging as he answered, “Probably went to get breakfast. He’ll be back soon.” He reappeared from the bathroom, having pulled a few pieces of clothes over his sleeping things.

“The colonel told you everything, I guess,” Becca assumed.

Surprisingly, Elric barked a harsh laugh. “No way. That bastard can be annoyingly secretive. He told me what you could do and I know there’s only so many ways that can be accomplished.” He sat down heavily at the table and transferred his gaze to her. “Look, I’m not stupid. I know we can’t get out of working with each other, at least for a while. Al told me  _ he  _ thinks we should just be honest with each other and go from there.”

Becca blinked. This was less like the interrogation she’d been expecting, more like an actual conversation. She definitely hadn’t been expecting to hear the Elrics story as well. She didn’t notice how much time had passed until Elric prompted her, “C’mon, Harper. Equivalent exchange.”

She chuckled at that. “I guess that’s a fair way of thinking about it.” She hesitated, then agreed, “Yeah. Honesty sounds good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy and safe, and i'll see you all in the next update! -c


	2. exulansis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello again, my dears!
> 
> i'm posting this pretty much right after chapter one, but i'm afraid these first two are the only ones i've prewritten, so updates will come a little less frequently after this, but i don't plan on abandoning this anytime soon (if you want to leave comments or kudos to keep my spirits up, however, i think i'd faint with joy).
> 
> this is a huge exposition dump, but i figured it was easier to just answer the biggest questions about becca now, then filling in the smaller gaps as the story goes on. after this, i'm planning for 1-2 more chapters of the past before picking up in liore (part of my plan is to mess with the timeline slightly concerning isaac macdougal, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there).
> 
> exulansis (noun)- the tendency to give up trying to talk about an experience because people are unable to relate to it

Becca shifted on the couch, taking a deep breath, before she started talking. “Well, last night you met my brother, William.” She bit her lip, then revised, “Technically he’s my half brother. We were both born and raised in Adethal…”

As she spoke, Becca let herself take a trip down memory lane, getting lost in her own stories as she told them.

_ Becca leaned across the dining room table, observing from a distance as Will chalked a transmutation circle onto the grainy surface. _

_ “Now, catch,” Will teased, tossing the chalk to Becca, who fumbled to catch it, then instructed, “And watch this.” He pressed his hands to the table, energy crackling around the circle as five tiny statuettes rose from the wood. Becca gasped, a smile alighting her face as she put the chalk aside to look closer. _

_ “It’s us!” she said delightedly. The figurines were more shapes than actual people, but Becca could easily distinguish who was supposed to be who. There was a tall, thin cube representing their father, and a similarly shaped cylinder straight to his right was Becca’s mother. On the other side, there was an egg shaped figure in place of Will’s mom, Louisa, and in front of her was a small pyramid and an even smaller sphere, which obviously was meant to be Will and Becca. The statuettes mirrored the large picture hanging in their front entryway. Becca grinned up at Will across the table, but she faltered when she noticed Will’s dejected look. “What’s wrong?” _

_ “It’s not good enough,” Will muttered. “Not enough details. Dad wouldn’t like it.” _

_ “Well, I like it,” Becca defended. “Can I keep it since Dad wouldn’t want it?” _

_ Will laughed and ruffled Becca’s hair. “Sorry, Becca. Equivalent exchange. I can’t make more wood out of nothing, so if we don’t put it back, then we end up with a hole in the table.” _

_ Becca ducked away from his hand and made a face. As Will undid the alchemy and restored the flat table, she sighed, resting her chin on the table. “I wish  _ I  _ could do alchemy.” _

_ Her brother gave her a thoughtful look while wiping the chalk circle away. “I mean, you could ask Dad.” _

_ Becca brightened. “You’d let me learn with you?” _

_ “I don’t think it’s really my choice, squirt.” He moved around the table, squeezing Becca into a side hug. “But if Dad says it’s okay, I think I could help you catch up.”  _

_ Becca beamed up at him, then her breath caught as she heard the front door open. “Dad’s home!” She pulled away from Will and started towards the doorway, then turned and excitedly explained, “I’m gonna go ask him about joining lessons!” _

\---

“If there’s one thing you need to know about my father, it’s that he was obsessed with his legacy.” She laughed begrudgingly. “My stepmom, Louisa,  _ hated _ that. She said he used to be amazing to her, then he got his state alchemist title and he changed.”

_ That night, Becca and Will huddled together under Will’s blanket, listening to all three adults arguing. Their father had agreed to start Becca’s alchemy training within the week, but Louisa had forcefully objected once she was told about the plan after dinner, which had led to the three way shouting match at present. _

_ “She’s four, Benedict! She’s only just started reading and she hasn’t even had the chance to go to regular school-” _

_ “She’s not going to regular school ever, Louisa. I already let you put William in school and he’s years behind where I was at his age! Absolutely not, Rebecca will be taught by me and only me. That’s the only right way to continue a legacy, from the get go,” their dad said firmly. _

_ “If she wants to, Rebecca should get to. You said she’s bright, Louisa-” Becca’s mother pointed out. _

_ “She’s bright, and she’s still a child! I know you both think that children are just means to your ends, but believe it or not, they’re both their own people!” Louisa shouted. “Maybe they won’t want to stay here and look after you forever, and they might not want to ‘continue your legacy’! They need a  _ normal _ life!” _

_ Becca winced as she heard a loud thump. It sounded like someone had just pounded a fist on the wall, and, knowing all three adults’ tempers, she assumed it was their father. Will’s arms tightened around her. _

_ “Enough!” their father bellowed. “Nora and I are Rebecca’s parents, no matter how much you think otherwise. She and I will discuss this. You screwed up my legacy once, I’m not letting it get completely ruined by the likes of you.” _

_ There were a few moments of silence between all three before Louisa spoke again. Will and Becca had to strain to hear her spit out, “Someone gave you a watch and a fancy title and you lost your dignity, Benedict Harper”. Familiar footsteps stormed up the stairs towards the bedrooms, and Becca heard the door slowly open and guiltily poked her head out from under the covers. _

_ Will, Becca, and Louisa stared at each other for a few moments before Will asked, “Are you okay, Mom?” _

_ “Oh, honey,” Louisa murmured, smiling tiredly. She climbed onto Will’s bed and pulled both of them close to her. “Of course I’m okay. I have you two.” She brushed Will’s bangs aside and traced a hand down Becca’s jaw. She scrunched her nose at them, making Becca laugh, then asked, “Now how many rounds of our lullaby will it take for you two to get to sleep?” _

_ Becca squealed in joy, but Will rolled his eyes. “I’m too old for lullabies, Mom.” _

_ “Oh?” Louisa said, raising a brow. “Then I can just take Becca back to her bed and we’ll sing there.” She picked Becca up, swinging her around to sit on her hip as Becca giggled. _

_ “Wait a second!” Will protested, crawling to rest on the edge of the bed. _

_ Louisa chuckled. She sat beside him, Becca resting on her lap, and put an arm around his shoulders. “Come on, hon. Time for bed.” _

_ Becca saw Will smile and cuddled closer into Louisa’s chest. Louisa started off humming the normal lullaby as Will snuggled under his covers. Becca closed her eyes, already feeling her heart start to slow down from the racing pace she didn’t even realize it had jumped to during the argument. _

_ “Wandering child of the earth, do you know just how much you’re worth?” Louisa sang, bopping Will on the nose. “You’ve walked this path since your birth, you were destined for more…” She continued the song, still holding Becca until she fell asleep. _

Becca noticed Alphonse quietly creeping back into the room, clearly about to ask what was happening before he was silenced by Elric raising a hand. Instead, the younger boy just settled nearby.

“So I was allowed to start learning alchemy with my father. He’d always been strict, but he got stricter after he failed his reinstatement test.”

\---

_ Becca’s knees were knocked out from under her by a sweeping kick from Will as they sparred. She collapsed to the ground, then heard her father snap, “Rebecca, 20 push ups.” Becca sighed, resting her forehead on the ground while she tried to catch her breath. She could hear her dad stomping back into the house, but it was Will who squatted down next to her. He wordlessly offered a hand, but Becca shook her head. _

_ “If I get up, I’m not doing those pushups. I just- give me a second.” _

_ Will looked like he was going to protest, but Becca shot him a look and he huffed, sitting down. _

_ “He can’t seriously think this is a fair fight,” he said, annoyed. _

_ Becca groaned, starting the pushups. It was true, she supposed. Any instance where an eight year old had to fight a sixteen, almost seventeen, year old could hardly be considered  _ fair _ , but the Quicksilver Alchemist hadn’t been one for fair since the military had refused to renew his license. Once she finished the 20 pushups, she rolled onto her back and accepted Will’s outstretched hand. _

_ “Let’s go grab a drink, then we can do some practical stuff,” he said gently, pulling her to her feet. _

\---

“And all Will and I wanted to do was make him proud…”

_ Ear pressed to her bedroom door, Becca could just barely make out the discussion that had been going on for what felt like hours in the study. Honestly, to her, it sounded more like a presentation that Will was pitching to their father. And unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be going well. Becca was aggressively thrown back to huddling in their shared room when Louisa had fought allowing her to learn alchemy when Will’s loud footsteps hurried up the stairs. She heard Louisa herself murmuring with her father downstairs, and Becca could only catch the words, “...you did this… training… wasted childhood… legacy…” before Will reached the door and she had to scurry out of the way to avoid being hit by it. _

_ “Becca…” he murmured, seeing her sprawled across the floor. He was breathing heavily and had a wild look in his eye that reminded her too much of their father in the last two years. Becca felt her lip start to quiver in fear until he sighed heavily and quietly closed the door, sinking slowly to sit at the base, laughing cynically. “I just  _ cannot _ be good enough for him,” he mumbled, fingers raking through his neatly styled blonde hair until Becca had wiggled her way into his lap and his arms moved to hold her tightly. She felt him shaking and rocking, and she just closed her eyes, unsure of what could be done to remedy the situation. _

_ She opened her eyes quickly when she realized he had gone still. _

_ “Will?” she asked. When she looked up at him, her brother was looking at the window in between their beds and her stomach flipped. She shook him slightly and prompted, “Will?” again. _

_ He stood up suddenly, hoisting Becca onto his hip and setting her on her bed, then almost ran over to his set of drawers and pulled a suitcase out from under it. He went on a mad dash around the room, tossing everything from journals to clothes into the case while Becca looked on silently. She had a feeling she knew where this was going, but she didn’t want to vocalize it, should it become real. She sat mute as he scribbled down a note in one of his journals, then proceeded to rip the page out and left it folded crisply on his desk. _

_ However, she had to push down her gut feeling to stay quiet when Will practically threw the window open. Becca jumped off the bed and whispered a hasty “Wait!”, dragging a blanket behind her. _

_ Thankfully, he paused, then blinked. He looked like he’d just come out of a trance. Becca stared pleadingly at him until he cracked a bitter smile and opened his arms. She rushed to him, squeezing him around the middle. “Please don’t go,” she whispered, knowing that fleeing would only anger their father more. _

_ “Hey,” Will said gently, pulling her chin up so she was looking him in the face. “I’ll be back, I promise. And when I get back, maybe Dad will be so proud that he’ll let me take over as your teacher.” He pried her hands off of him and kissed her forehead, then slid his suitcase out the window and onto the sturdy tree branch nearby. _

_ She bit her lip and asked, “Don’t you want to say goodbye to Louisa?” _

_ Will sighed heavily. “Mom would convince me not to go. I’ll see her when I get back. Can you make sure she gets my note?” _

_ “I- yeah,” Becca agreed helplessly, struggling to find another reason to stall him. “Will-” _

_ “Becca, I have to do this. I have to prove myself to him.” Will rubbed a hand across his face, then reassured, “It’ll be okay. You’ll hardly even notice I’m gone.” He sent her a tight smile. "You can think of this as the beginning of my adulthood. Then I'll see you off in a few years and you can go by yourself too." _

_ Becca felt her eyes well up, but nodded. Will nodded back, smiling again, and climbed out the window and into the tree. Becca moved to the window, watching as he climbed down, long limbs allowing him to make it in a few seconds. She watched as he dusted himself off, then turned to look at her. _

_ “I love you, squirt,” he called up. _

_ “I love you too,” she responded, wrapping her blanket tighter around herself before closing the window firmly behind him and curling up in bed, shaking with barely restrained sobs. She pretended to be asleep when Louisa came in, but was only able to fake it through her quiet gasp upon seeing the empty bed. Becca wiped her eyes, sitting up slowly as Louisa sank down on Will's abandoned bed. Louisa's heartbroken expression caused Becca's own heart to clench and she pathetically choked out, "I tried to stop him… I'm sorry…" She pointed to the desk where Will's note lay. "He left a letter for you." _

_ Louisa snatched the letter and read it slowly. After she'd put it aside, she put her head in her hands. As Becca was about to whimper another apology, Louisa crossed the room and almost collapsed next to her, hugging her as she began to weep in earnest. Wrapped in Louisa's embrace, Becca broke down as well, already missing her brother. _

"I never saw him again until last night," Becca explained. Her expression twisted into an angry scowl. "Although, apparently, he wrote to us but my bastard father never felt the need to tell us."

Neither Elric had said a word, but finally, Edward broke the silence and pointed out, "That doesn't explain why you did it."

Becca winced, her face falling. “Sorry, I just- I figured you’d want an explanation for last night-” She bit her lip, then continued, “I’ll go on.”

\---

_ The clock chimed eight in the Harper-Brand household, and the morning found its members in what had become the new normal in the past year. Becca sat at the kitchen table, studying, while Louisa occupied herself with breakfast in the kitchen. Becca’s mother was lounging on the large couch in their parlor, while her father hadn’t descended the stairs yet. _

_ “Rebecca, don’t forget to do the shopping today, dear,” her mother said, barely looking up from her embroidery. “And I need you to pick up that face cream from the Kramers.” _

_ Becca sighed, scribbling a few final notes into her leatherbound notebook before she waved it around to dry the ink and snapped it shut. “I’ll do that.” _

_ “I need the cream by tonight-” _

_ “I’ll take care of it.” _

_ “Rebecca, listen carefully-” her mother started. _

_ “Becca, can you come give me a hand?” Louisa called. Becca sighed thankfully, tossing her notes onto a shelf nearby. She hurried into the kitchen, quickly catching a pancake that was tilting off of the precarious stack. She exhaled, looking up and sharing a laugh with Louisa. Louisa reached over and squeezed Becca’s shoulder. “Thanks, kiddo. You go ahead and eat that one while I finish these up,” she said, indicating the pancakes on the stove that she was carefully stacking on a plate nearby. Becca nodded, stuffing the food in her mouth, then crossed to the cabinet and started stacking plates, cups, and silverware to bring to the table. She still instinctively went for five of everything, then froze, shook her head, and placed one setting back in its place. Louisa had paused as well, then laid her chin on the top of Becca’s hair and kissed the crown of her head. “He’ll write soon,” she said like she did every morning. _

_ It was getting harder and harder to believe, but Becca had already fallen into the routine of hope, so she responded as she always did: “I know.” _

_ “Rebecca!” she heard her father shout. “I told you to finish those equations!” Becca flinched. _

_ Louisa released her and ordered, “Go put those on the table. If he says anything, tell him you were studying, but you had to help me. Go, now.” _

_ Becca nodded quickly, rushing to follow the instructions before her father got angrier.  _

_ “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Becca muttered, sliding the plates into their spots on the table. “I finished earlier, my notes are on the bookshelf if you want to check-” _

_ Her father sneered, but picked up the journal and started flipping through the book. _

_ Just as the final place setting was set down, three things happened simultaneously: One, Becca’s father made a disapproving noise. Two, her mother puckered her lips to apply some dark shade of lipstick. And three, Becca heard a thump from the kitchen. Rationally, she knew it was probably innocent, but for some reason, something felt horribly wrong. It felt like time was slowing down as she heard her father call out for her while she turned and ran back to the kitchen. She froze in the doorway. There was Louisa, in a heap on the ground. Someone screamed. She thought it was her, but she couldn’t tell for sure as she was barely aware she’d moved forward to kneel beside Louisa. _

“Louisa and I both missed Will, but she-” Becca heard her voice crack, but it felt like she was an outsider in her own body, listening to someone else talking through her. “He was her kid, her real kid, and she- she couldn’t take it.”

\---

_ “Good morning,” Becca said quietly, opening the door to Louisa’s bedroom. Her stepmother smiled softly at her, but she’d been having difficulty speaking ever since her stroke a few weeks earlier. However, her silence caused Becca to make a face, since Louisa could usually greet her, but she hadn’t been able to in the last few days. Granted, it was early, earlier than her own father and mother would be up, but that was the only time Becca had to care for Louisa and it never usually caused a problem. She set a tray of scrambled eggs on the table beside the bed, then helped Louisa to sit up and offered her the fork. Normally, Louisa was able to at least feed herself a few bites before needing assistance so that Becca could freshen up the room, but today, the fork dropped out of her hand after a few seconds. Becca frowned. “Are you feeling alright?” _

_ “Becca,” Louisa murmured, reaching over to clumsily squeeze her hand. Becca squeezed back, smiling encouragingly. “Will you- uh- Will’s letter? Read- um, read it?” _

_ Becca’s smile faltered slightly. She’d been asking for that a lot lately, and every time, tears would roll down her face as she read, but Becca couldn’t bring herself to say no. “I’ll get it. It’s on the desk, right?” _

_ Louisa hesitated, considering the question as had become the norm, then agreed, “Yeah- desk.” _

_ Becca retrieved the letter from its place and handed it over. She watched silently as Louisa’s hands began to shake while she read. Becca hopped up onto the bed, curling up into Louisa’s side and holding her tightly. _

_ “Chest hurt,” Louisa whispered. _

_ Becca assumed she was just trying to express grief, so she just nodded and muttered, “I know.” She pressed a kiss to Louisa’s hair, then stretched as the clock chimed eight. “I have to go take care of everything else. I’ll be back tonight, okay?” Louisa didn’t respond, too enthralled in the letter, so Becca just affirmed, “I love you,” then switched the radio she’d moved up to Louisa’s room on to the classical music station and slipped out the door. She resisted the urge to cover her ears to block out the gut wrenching coughs she could hear as soon as she started walking away to go prepare breakfast for her parents. _

\---

_ Rubbing her back gingerly and sore from a rough training session with her father, Becca knocked on Louisa’s door as the December sun set. She waited a moment, then let herself in. She stopped just inside. Louisa appeared to already be asleep, which, while not unusual, combined with everything else to make Becca worry. _

_ “Louisa?” _

_ Louisa didn’t respond, so Becca stepped closer and called her name again, along with a quiet, “Are you alright?” _

_ It was only then that she was close enough to realize that Louisa’s chest wasn’t rising and falling. Instead, it was motionless. Louisa herself was as still as a statue. Becca gasped, practically falling forward to rest her elbows on the bed. She scrambled to reach for Louisa’s wrist and frantically felt for a pulse. She couldn’t find one. _

_ “No, no, no, please-” Becca whispered, moving her hand up to Louisa’s jugular. “Please, no, please, come on, no, no-” She swallowed thickly and shouted, “Someone get help! Call the hospital!” _

_ She looked around, desperately searching for something, anything, to help, until her eyes landed on the napkin she’d brought with breakfast that morning. It was covered in dried blood. Becca looked up to Louisa’s face and caught sight of a hint of blood around her mouth. Just as her father burst in, Becca whipped around to look at him, the speed of her breathing picking up. _

_ “Did you call someone?” she demanded. _

_ Her father said nothing, just strode forward and grabbed Becca firmly on each shoulder. Becca pulled against him, straining to get away as she weakly insisted, “No, stop, I need to help her, someone has to-” Her demands escalated to screamed pleas. “No, no, you can’t, please don’t, please, Dad, help her, please-!” _

_ She didn’t know when she ended up sitting on the stairs, but she knew she’d started crying at some point. She’d buried her face in her hands, still pleading, promising, while her father’s cold hands held her in place. _

_ “Please,” she sobbed. “I’ll never ask anything again, please, just help her, help her, please, you have to-” _

_ She froze, shocked, when she felt the sting of skin on skin. Her hand instinctively went to her cheek, cradling the red she was sure was blooming over where her father had slapped her. She stared up at him, totally caught off guard. _

_ “You do not tell me what I  _ have _ to do,” he said angrily. “She’s dead, Rebecca. No one can help her. You will calm down before I will call anyone. Pull yourself together. Do you think the military will tolerate this?” _

_ Becca’s lip quivered, but she forced back the fresh tears as she shook her head. “No, sir.” _

“That was Dad’s favorite thing,” Becca noted quietly. “‘Do you think the military will tolerate this?’ And the answer was always, ‘No, sir’ if I wanted dinner that night.” She shook her head to clear her head. “Louisa- the doctor told us later that it was pulmonary embolism, a blood clot that blocked blood flow to her lungs. Not that  _ they _ cared. Thank God everyone she’d ever met liked her, otherwise we probably wouldn’t have even had a funeral…”

\---

_ Becca stood alone at the grave. It was well known around town that Louisa and Becca’s father hadn’t gotten along since her father’s public affair, but she would have thought that after Louisa had basically kept the house functioning for twelve years when she could have just left when Benedict brought his mistress home and expected her to care for both Nora and their incoming child, one of them would have the decency to attend her funeral. She bit her lip and ran a hand over the words engraved on the plaque. _

Louisa Harper

March 29, 1864-December 5th, 1911

Always loving, always loved

_ “I’m sorry,” she whispered. She heard running footsteps behind her and turned tiredly to see her father sprinting up the hill. She furrowed her brow. _

_ “Rebecca, I’ve made a discovery!” he crowed. _

_ Becca huffed, switching her gaze back to Louisa’s headstone. “Dad, please,” she choked out. “Please, can’t this wait?” _

_ “Listen, you don’t understand,” her father said insistently. Becca didn’t look at him, but she noticed that he sounded more alive than he’d sounded in years. She closed her eyes, silently willing him to just leave her alone, but he continued to talk. “I’ve done all the math, I just need to figure out the circle-”  _ Good God, _ Becca thought.  _ I’m mourning and he still can’t let up on the alchemy… Louisa was right. He’s obsessed-  _ “You can see her again.” _

_ Becca’s gaze snapped to him. “What? No, I can’t. That goes against Equivalent Exchange, it has to.” _

_ He smiled at her. “You  _ can _. I swear it’s true.” The smile didn’t reach his eyes, but the tiny shred of hope that had just lit up in Becca’s chest told her it was just because he hadn’t smiled in earnest in so long.  _

_ She looked up at him, wide eyed. “How?” _

_ “Come back to the house,” her father requested. “We can discuss it over dinner.” _

\---

“You had just gotten certified,” Becca explained. “And no one knew for sure how you did it, but there were rumors, and my father- he was willing to try anything to get his status back.”

_ Becca carried a large bucket of water into the shed her and her father had taken over in the past four months. She nudged the door open to see her father crouched on the ground, sketching out the circle they’d devised. _

_ “Careful with that,” he snapped. Becca winced. The first month of working together, he’d been the best teacher she could ever remember him being, but as the process dragged on, he fell into the same patterns he’d always had in relation to her: snarky and demanding. But, as she told herself constantly, once this was done, he’d surely get his title back and maybe things would be better.  _

_ As it was now, however, Becca just flinched and uttered a quiet, “Right, sorry.” _

_ Without an affirmation, her father just stood up and surveyed their work. Becca went to work checking over the list of ingredients that they’d gathered while he closed the curtains, blocking out the sun, and lit the old lantern hanging from a hook in the ceiling. _

_ “Are you sure this is okay?” Becca asked. “Human transmutation-” _

_ “The books say it’s impossible, but we’ve done the math,” her father said coldly. “We’ve discussed this before. And once we do this, we’ll be hailed as alchemical heroes.” He smiled, an odd expression to see on his face after twelve years of sneers and smirks. “The Harper name will go down in history.” _

_ Becca bit her lip, but nodded. She pulled a small bundle of hair out of a bag, cringing, before she dropped it onto the pile of materials. Becca had barely been able to force herself to go into Louisa’s room to retrieve the hair from her brush, but she’d forced herself by repeating the mantra that had been running through her head since the funeral. _

_ It’s for her. _

_ “Ready, Rebecca?” her dad prompted, crouching on the far end of the circle. _

_ “I-” Becca hesitated. “Yeah,” she said decisively. However, when her father counted down to cue them, it was only her who touched her hands to the circle. “Hang on, Dad, what are you doing?” _

_ Almost immediately, the room didn’t feel right, and she had to resist the urge to jerk her hands away as the energy from the transmutation sparked wildly. Suddenly, a giant eye opened in the center of the circle. Becca jerked away, but the reaction was already underway.  _

_ Her father, on the other hand, grinned wildly. “Finally!” he crowed. Before Becca could react, he had jumped up, throwing himself into the circle. As she watched, he disappeared. She started to call out, leaning forward to touch the circle, but the second she did, she felt herself being ripped apart and could only scream in pain until she suddenly couldn’t feel anything whatsoever. She stumbled to her feet, breathing heavily as she tried to take in her surroundings. _

_ “What-?” she whispered. “Where is this?” _

_ “Hello, child.” _

_ Becca whirled around, somehow just noticing the large gate behind her. The gate was carved with an intricate design with three branches from a central mall, each ending in a swirl. Words were inscribed along the lines in a language Becca recognized from her studies as Xerxesian, and although she couldn’t read exactly what they said, she could pick out a few of the technical terms for multiple elements. The most horrifying, however, was the figure standing straight backed in front of the gate itself. “...Dad?” _

_ The figure chuckled. It sounded like thousands of voices all laughing at once, then, once it started to speak, the effect continued. “You know that’s not true, alchemist.” _

_ “But-” Becca squeaked, then coughed, and restarted, “But you have to be-” _

_ “I am many things. I am God. I am the world. I am the universe. I am the truth. I am one. I am all-” _

“I am you,” Becca finished. At the same time, Elric was staring at her, having practically quoted the entire introduction along with her. Becca stopped, meeting his eyes. “It said the same thing to you?”

“I’ll never forget it,” Elric muttered, averting his eyes. He surveyed her, raising a brow when he looked back up to her face. “But I don’t get it. It had already taken the form of your father? So what did you lose?”

Becca wiped her eyes again, trying to hide her tears. She hadn’t had to give up the truth to anyone yet, but she forced the admission out, along with a broken sob. “I lost him-”

_ “Sacrificing someone else, you had the right idea," the thing mimicking her father said. "Unfortunately, you know he wasn't worth as much to you as she was." _

_ "Sacrificing- what? No, I- I didn't want to-" _

_ The manic grin that stretched over her father's face was even more unusual than its laugh moments earlier. "Oh, I see. Well, then I suppose you two were both arrogant fools then, but he paid the price for it." If possible, the grin became wider. "And you get to reap the reward." The thing opened its arms and the doors behind it opened slowly. Tiny black arms ensnared Becca, pulling her in even as she resisted. _

_ "Get them off of me, please!" she screamed.  _

_ The figure of her father only waved in response. "Enjoy the show." _

_ Becca’s eyes snapped open as she jerked to sit up. Her head throbbed dully, a sure sign of a headache coming on, but Becca had no idea why. That… thing in front of that huge gate had told her to enjoy the show, but she couldn’t remember what exactly it had shown her. Suddenly, the image of it flashed in her mind- the figure wearing her father’s face- and she looked around wildly. _

_ “Dad?” she called, pushing to her feet, and shouted urgently, “Dad!” _

_ Becca stepped into the circle and her foot came into contact with something. She looked down and her eyes widened, unable to even scream at the vaguely humanoid, twisted body that had been created in the transmutation. _

_ “No,” she whispered as realization dawned on her. Her father had been the sacrifice that being talked about, and for what? They’d failed, only succeeding in creating a feeble replication of a human body. “No, no, no, no, no-” she whimpered, her cries becoming louder as she backed away from the circle. She hit the wall and sobbed, collapsing to her knees. She curled up, head resting between her legs, and wept in earnest, mourning her father, mourning her innocence, and, most importantly to her, mourning Louisa once again. _

_ \--- _

_ Slowly, things fell into yet another new pattern. Becca knew that no one could know what had happened, not that anyone asked. No one in Adethal really liked her father, so they didn’t question Becca’s hasty lie about an accident concerning her father, and her mother was too caught up in herself to press the matter past everyone giving her half-hearted condolences at the memorial service. Becca was ready to atone for her sins in any way she could by never performing alchemy again, so she too fell into a routine, passing the days taking care of her mother. Cooking, cleaning, running errands- anything to keep her mind occupied and her soul feeling productive. _

_ One morning, months after the incident, however, things shifted once again. Becca woke up with the pounding headache that had taken what seemed like a permanent residence in her temples, and stumbled downstairs to start boiling water for a mug of peppermint tea like she always did when the ache was particularly painful, then stepped outside for the day’s mail. _

_ “Morning, Becca,” her neighbor, Victor, greeted. _

_ Becca raised her hand in acknowledgement, then took a deep breath to inhale the scent of baking bread coming from her bakery. “The rolls smell fantastic, I’m sure Mom will send me over later.” _

_ Victor chuckled, then asked, “Anything from Will today?” Becca knew the exchange well. She remembered that her brother and their neighbor had been close (Becca had her own suspicions, but Will had always said she was too young to get it), and he had retained that hopeful edge through the years, same as Louisa. Becca looked through the few letters, mostly bills, but had to give him a weak half smile. _

_ “Not today,” she said habitually, then paused. Her brow furrowed as she recognized the seal on the final letter as that of the Amestrian military.  _

_ Obviously intrigued, Victor leaned over the wall separating their houses. “Something interesting?” _

_ “Yeah, it… it’s something,” Becca said, placing it aside to sort through the others. “Bills, bills, bills,” she muttered, flicking through once again to check that she hadn’t missed anything. “Ooh, a letter from my great aunt.” She didn’t voice it, but she’d hoped there’d be some money in that envelope along with the letter. The small allowance her mother was allotted monthly from her inheritance was barely enough to keep Becca and her mom afloat, especially with her mother’s impulsive spending habits and near obsession with her appearance, so anything that could be stowed away for a rainy day was welcome. _

_ Victor started to speak, but he couldn’t even get a word out before Becca heard the whistling of the teapot from its spot just inside the kitchen window. She shot a guilty look over the wall at Victor, who merely waved it off. _

_ “I’ve got to go check on the bread anyway,” he said easily. “Come by tonight and you can sample a few new things I’m thinking of for the winter solstice, okay?” _

_ Becca grinned at her. “Alright, I’ll try,” she assured, hurrying inside to quiet the whistling before it woke her mom. She moved the pot, then poured as much as she could into a mug, filling it to the brim, and dunked a sweet smelling tea bag in. While it steeped, Becca set about slicing the last few pieces of bread from that week's loaf and reaching into the icebox for some jam and butter, as well as getting coffee going for her mother. When she got a moment, Becca crossed to the bookshelf and pulled down the log she’d kept of their finances to start working on the bills until her mom got up.  _

_ The military letter, however, was the last to be opened, and Becca broke the seal easily in order to shake the letter out. She kicked her feet onto the table, assuming it was just something concerning her father’s death, then slowly leaned forward as the letter went on.  _ Loans taken out… failure to pay… report to East City… 

_ She threw the letter down, biting back a swear, and dashed up the stairs, crashing into her father’s study and rifling through all of his things, searching for letters, bills, anything to prove that the letter had arrived at the wrong house. _

I can’t take any more on top of everything else, _ Becca thought, feeling her breaths quicken into gasps. Her hands shook as she flipped through her father’s personal journals. She felt her headache increase as her eyes scanned the pages. Slowly, however, her pace stalled as she started reading the entries dated around the time Louisa got sick. “What…?” she whispered. Her head felt like it was about to explode when it reached his notes about human transmutation. She scrunched her eyes shut and fell back into the chair, suddenly remembering  _ everything _. Truth, or whatever it was, and its gate of knowledge crashed back into her memory. _

“He knew she was dying,” Becca spat. “But he wouldn’t try to help- he wanted to use her to- to trick me. He wanted what you have,” she said, nodding towards Elric, who looked stricken, “and it was supposed to be me, not him.”

_ “Rebecca!” she heard someone calling. “Rebecca! It’s burning!” Becca blinked her eyes open, coming too again. She jumped up, only just realizing what her mother had yelled. She sped downstairs, tripping down the stairs to turn the toaster off. She pushed past her mother, burning her fingers in an attempt to get the offending pieces of bread out, before she turned to her mother. _

_ “Mom…” Becca said weakly. “We need to talk.” _

_ “After breakfast, love,” her mom said, adjusting her long, blue Xingese silk robe. She had clearly woken abruptly, given that her curlers were still in her hair and she hadn’t put on her usual makeup yet, and she barely gave Becca a second glance as she made her way back towards her bedroom, presumably to get ready. “Put some eggs on for me, won’t you?” _

_ Becca tried to stop her, to force this conversation  _ now _ , but she found herself sagging from sudden exhaustion. She closed her eyes tightly, feeling like she was about to cry, and reached over to take a long drink from her abandoned mug. She brought the tea to her lips, only to find it cold. She huffed loudly, abruptly frustrated with her mother, her father, hell, she was frustrated at the  _ world _ , and shouted wordlessly, throwing her mug against the wall. The shattering, while not helpful, was extremely satisfying. _

_ At least until Becca realized she’d just created another mess for herself. She groaned, reaching for the broom, then froze. _

Maybe… _ she thought, crouching by the broken pieces. She touched her hands together and felt a jolt of energy rush through her, as if a circuit had been connected. In a few seconds, Becca reconstructed the mug, granted, without the cold tea still inside. She fell back onto her knees, staring down at her hands in shock. _

“They wanted him to come sort everything out, but-” she shrugged, “that couldn’t happen, so I had to.”

“What about your mom?” Alphonse asked, “Couldn’t she-”

“No,” Becca said. “For one, she wouldn’t have a clue what to do, but also, she and my dad weren’t married. All of his assets should fall to Will, since he’s older, but that obviously couldn’t happen either. It has to be this way.”

\---

_ “Ah, well, Miss Harper,” some bespectacled clerk stuttered.  _

_ Becca pushed the stack of letters she’d taken from her father’s office across the table. “I swear, my mother and I, we had no idea-” _

_ “Yes, but even so- oh, goodness!” The man jumped up, saluting to someone behind Becca. Becca turned, looking up at a tall, dark haired man, who the clerk quickly identified with a squeaky, “Colonel Mustang, sir!” _

_ “I thought Benedict Harper was supposed to be with you, Private Gruber,” Mustang said, raising his brow. “I was hoping to see him.” _

_ “Uh, he- he was supposed to be, sir, but-” _

_ “My father died in March,” Becca interrupted. “I’m just trying to get his debts settled.” _

_ Mustang’s eyes fell to her, dark eyes meeting her own. She could practically sense him glancing over her features and lowered her chin, careful to not break eye contact. He smirked. _

_ “Trying?” he asked. “Is something wrong?” _

_ “Well, sir, Mr. Harper racked up… quite a lot of interest-” _

_ “And I don’t have the money now, but if we could just discuss a payment plan,” Becca said insistently. She saw the clerk looking helplessly up at the colonel, making Becca look up at him as well. _

_ Mustang sighed, running a hand through his hair. “How much?” _

_ The clerk showed him the number scrawled on the paper sitting between him and Becca. Mustang gave a low whistle. “What are the options?” _

_ “We don’t have many, sir,” Gruber said honestly. “The terms stated that the minimums of all the loans have to be paid within the year, and Mr. Harper didn’t do so before his death. Our options right now are pretty much limited to paying the compounded minimum in full by December or else the military will seize their assets.” _

_ Becca leaned forward, head in her hands. “We have nowhere else to go,” she said pleadingly. _

_ “What about a payment plan, like she said?” Mustang asked. _

_ “You know how it is, sir,” Gruber admitted. “Civilians aren’t allowed payment plans.” _

_ “Civilians?” Becca asked, sitting up quickly. “Who can?” _

_ “Well, active military is, but-” _

_ Becca tuned him out, staring blankly ahead as she thought back to everything- her father’s notes, the transmutation, her newfound abilities- then spun to get the colonel’s attention. “I need to do that. I need to join.” _

_ “Miss Harper,” Mustang said, giving her a look. “You can’t just-” _

_ “They wanted Fullmetal, they’ll want me too, right?” Becca said. “I’m like him, I can-” _

_ “Like Fullmetal?” Mustang said disbelievingly. _

_ Becca froze, realizing she might have said too much. “I mean-” _

_ She couldn’t try to back out since the colonel had already moved to grip her forearm. Mustang pulled her up from her seat harshly and gave a curt, “I’ll take care of this, Private. Continue on.” _

\---

“That sounds like the colonel,” Elric muttered.

Becca shot him a hesitant smile. “It didn’t seem too out of character,” she agreed. “But either way, Mustang pushed for my test to get sped up over the last few days, but I just got certified yesterday. I’m not trying to get your pity, or- or use this just because I can, or anything like that, I just- I’d rather stay in Adethal and never use alchemy again, but I  _ have _ to do this. It was my fault, and I have to- to just live with it. My mom and I… we don’t have any other possibilities.” She scrunched her face up, taking a shaky breath. “I’m sorry, I just- the circumstances don’t make it okay, but I thought- I  _ assumed _ you would understand more than anyone else-”

A large metal hand on her shoulder cut off Becca’s rambling. She looked up to see Alphonse hovering above her. “We do,” he said gently. “Right, brother?”

Elric stood up slowly, stalking over to her. Becca bowed her head until she felt a smaller hand on her other shoulder and looked up, shocked. The blonde sighed loudly, but allowed a small smile. “Yeah, I guess we do.”

Becca sucked in a surprised breath, trying to fight the first genuine smile that had tugged at her lips in months. “Thanks, Fullmetal.”

He made a face, clearly displeased. “Ugh. If we’re going to work together, you can call me Ed.”

Becca couldn’t help it. With that permission, she felt so relieved that she just giggled. “In that case, you can call me Becca. My parents are the only ones who ever called me Rebecca.” 

When she looked up, she noted a pink tint on Edward’s cheeks before he shot her a smile and retreated. He sat back down on the other chair and quickly grew more somber. Becca sensed the energy in the air change, so she settled back into her seat, preparing to hear the other end of their deal.

“Adethal is between here and Central, right?” Ed asked. Becca nodded, and he clarified, “We’re from down south then. Resembool…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy and safe, and i'll see you all in the next update! -c


	3. vellichor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey dears!
> 
> holy crap this chapter gave me a lot of trouble! i promise future updates won't take so long. i'm hoping for a schedule of one chapter every other thursday, but i'll have to try that for a few chapters and maybe adjust (if i get a little bit ahead it might get bumped to every thursday but we will see).
> 
> anyway, i think the reason this chapter gave me so much trouble was because we didn't get to see much of becca's mom in the last chapter, so i wanted to establish their relationship and i definitely didn't want to make becca sound like a brat, so please let me know if it come off that way so i can do some editing.
> 
> last note, i changed katja from the last chapter to victor. not a major change, just a gender switch, but i just wanted to let you know that those two are one in the same so no one got confused.
> 
> vellichor (noun)- the strange wistfulness of used bookstores

After an exhaustive morning listening to the Elrics story just as they had listened to hers, Becca insisted that they go get a late breakfast before they were supposed to meet Colonel Mustang. Becca had seen a bakery on her walk over that morning and Ed hadn’t put up much of a fight after smelling the various goods baking inside. It had only taken a few minutes and then they were out in the street again, Becca carrying a milk roll and Ed munching on several pastries at once.

“These are good,” Ed said, mouth full.

“Brother, you’re spitting everywhere,” Al complained.

Ed just took one of his gloved hands and wiped the crumbs from his mouth before asking, “See anything in there you want to add to your list, Al?”

“List?” Becca asked, interested.

“My list of foods I want to eat when I get my body back,” Alphonse explained. 

Becca felt her heart melt slightly at that. She’d been told about their plans and eagerly agreed to help as much as she could, and she just grinned up at him, patting his arm. “Then have I got the place for you. That place was good, but Victor’s in Adethal? Heaven on Earth.” 

She started describing the cinnamon pastry Victor had created for the last winter solstice, but was cut off by Ed declaring that nothing could compare to their friend’s apple pie from back home. As they walked and debated, Becca made a face, making Edward laugh. Becca hesitated, then smiled in response.  _ Maybe this won’t be so bad after all, _ she thought to herself, pushing a hand through her hair as their playful argument was interrupted by Alphonse offering his own opinion on the matter.

\---

“Fullmetal, try not to get crumbs all over my carpet,” Mustang requested sardonically, herding all three of them into his office. Ed stuck his tongue out and Becca laughed as the colonel flashed a disgusted look at the half chewed pastry bits. He rolled his eyes, and said, “At least you two are getting along.”

Ed waved him off. “Yeah, yeah. What did you want?”

Mustang pressed his lips together, letting out a heavy sigh, then gave Becca and Ed a sheaf of papers each. “A rogue alchemist has been on a rampage in Central City. We’re all being called in to help track him down. I have a few things I need to finish up here, so I’ll be catching up in a few days. Havoc has gone to sort out your train tickets, but once you’ve got those, you can head out to the station.”

“Brother and my things are outside, but we’ll need to stop wherever Becca left her things for the night,” Al pointed out.

Becca flushed. “Well, actually, I- I kind of left Adethal in a bit of a rush.” Edward and Mustang both gave her an incredulous look, making her cheeks even redder. “I pretty much just… left with what I had.”

Mustang closed his eyes, massaging around his eyes. “Alright. I’ll call Havoc to rearrange your tickets for a stop in Adethal, but _ please _ don’t dawdle.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, sir,” Becca said, flipping through her papers.

Alphonse’s metal hand came to rest on her shoulder, surprisingly gentle, and grounded Becca as Edward sent a few more cracks Mustang’s way. She laughed, up until their commanding officer reached his boiling point, shouting the three of them out of the room.

“See you in Central, Colonel Bastard!” Ed crowed joyfully a mere second before the door slammed. 

Becca stared at him, slightly awed. “How do you just talk to him like that?” she asked. “Aren’t you scared that he’ll do something to you?”

“Nah,” Ed said flippantly. He grabbed his suitcase, throwing it over his shoulder easily with his automail arm. He shot her a wide grin, one that she was quickly finding impossible to not respond in kind to, then called out a general farewell to Mustang’s officers. “You guys ready to go?”

“Ready, Brother,” Al responded.

“Yeah,” Becca said after a moment, unable to stop a newfound fondness from leaking into her voice. “Yeah,” she said again, more confidently. “Let’s get out of here.”

\---

After a train ride that was far too quick for Becca’s taste, she found herself guiding the silent Elrics through the bustling streets of Adethal. It seemed like they’d picked up on Becca’s growing anxiety, so they’d mostly left her alone on the ride, even as Becca’s expression shifted from a comfortable, if vague, smile into somber frown as she stared out the window. Now, however, Becca couldn’t exactly avoid their questioning looks when she deliberately slowed down approaching her front gate.

She shot them a hopeful smile and pushed the gate open. She led the brothers through the garden, about to unlock the front door when Al’s voice brought her to a halt.

“Are those yours?” he asked.

Becca turned, confused, then laughed slightly. Al had stopped by the two pairs of handprints imprinted in the walkway. “Yeah,” she said, reminiscing on the blissful afternoon of laughter after Will had transmuted the cement back to its liquid form and both of them had left their marks. “Oh, Dad wasn’t happy with us that day…” she muttered. “But Louisa wouldn’t let him undo it.” She suddenly realized how tense she’d become and slowly breathed out, releasing all the tension in her shoulders. “Into the lion’s den, I suppose,” she said, reaching for her key and unlocking the door. “Come on in,” she invited.

Becca pulled off her too big coat, hanging it just inside. She could hear some cheesy radio show blaring from a room upstairs.

“Mom?” she called.

“Rebecca!” her mother responded. She heard her long strides before her mother appeared at the top of the staircase. Despite the fact that it was near noon, she was dressed in her long robe, the end dragging on the steps behind her as she descended. She was wearing a simple white dress underneath, but Becca still had to resist the urge to snap at her mother to please put on some actual clothes. Her gray eyes were fixated on the compact mirror she was holding, and Becca considered it a miracle that she hadn’t tripped coming down the stairs. “Good, you’re back. Victor’s been checking in on me, but I couldn’t ask her to just leave the business to help me like you do- you know Victor, right?”

“I’ve known him my whole life, Mom,” Becca said. She could sense the Elrics shuffling behind her as she tried to dispel the rigid awkwardness that had fallen over the room. “And I’m only back for a few days, I’ll have to go to-”

“Of course, darling,” her mother replied, completely oblivious to anything that wasn’t her, as usual. “So you’ll need to run to the shops before dinner-” She stopped at the foot of the stairs, finally looking around and noticing Ed and Al. Her face flushed almost unnoticeably. “Rebecca, you didn’t say you’d be bringing back guests.”

Becca shrugged. She was aware that she looked like a sulking child, but she couldn’t find the will to care. That one ounce of freedom she’d experienced was suddenly quelled just by being back in the house. “This is Edward and Alphonse Elric. Ed and Al, this is my mother, Nora Brand.”

“Nice to meet you,” Alphonse said, although his demeanor was significantly less sweet than Becca had seen. Edward still looked too uncomfortable to say anything.

“A pleasure,” her mom said airily, barely acknowledging any of them as she went about fluffing and fixing her hair.

“Mom, have you gone out at all while I’ve been gone?” Becca asked. She meandered into the kitchen and leaned on the table, scanning the room to make sure that nothing was out of place to keep her mind off of the nauseating anxiety that was boiling just under her skin.

“Of course, I went to the opera just the other night with Mr. Walden-”

Becca groaned. “Mr. Walden, as in the one  _ married _ to Mrs. Walden?”

Her mother laughed, a high, tinkling noise that Becca was glad to have not inherited. “You’re hilarious, dear. It wasn’t like that at all.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m sure,” Becca muttered. She sighed heavily, standing back up. “I’ll go by the stores as soon as I can.” She gave her mother a look. “I’m going to get the Elrics settled in my room while you finish getting ready.” Gesturing for the boys to follow her, Becca hurried up the stairs before her mom could respond. She was careful not to look behind her, even as she heard her mother laugh again.

Someone shut the door. Ed let out a quiet, “Wow.”

“So that’s your mom?” Al said rhetorically.

Becca forced out a laugh. “Yeah,” she confirmed. “Yeah, that’s why Louisa raised me.” She shook herself off, trying to busy herself by puttering about the bedroom. The curtains separating Will’s bed from hers were pulled shut, so she threw them open, then went to shake out the familiar blanket. “Ed, you can sleep here,” she said, opening the window, letting fresh air in. “And Al, you can check out any of the books on the shelf, or I can show you to my father’s study-”

When she turned around, Alphonse had already started perusing the bookshelf. He turned to her, joy reflected in his body language as he clutched an old volume of fairy tales. “We had this book when we were little!” he said excitedly. “Right, Brother?”

Becca looked over at Ed, who was still standing by the door. “I- yeah. I remember Mom reading us that stuff.” The strange expression that had been on his face since they’d entered the room finally fell away as he leaned to peer at the book. “We haven’t heard one of those in years.”

“Well, have at it,” Becca said. “I have to go take care of everything and- and explain things to my mom, so… I’ll let you know when I make lunch.”

Ed looked up, furrowing his brow. “You just got home. What do you even need to do?”

Becca blinked, the pink blush that seemed to have found a permanent home on her cheeks rising up again. “Well, I- I need to go see what’s in the kitchen and do some planning after lunch, then run out for groceries, and probably set up a new account at the bank- not to mention sending something around to Victor to thank him-”

“We’ll help,” Al said. “We won’t just sit around while you’re working.”

“You really don’t have to-”

“Becca, you’re our friend,” Alphonse said, firmly putting an end to the discussion. “Of course we’ll help you out.”

“After we eat, right?” Edward asked.

A small smile spread over Becca’s face. “Yeah- yeah. Let’s go get something to eat.”

\---

“So I’ll need some fruit preserves... oh, or jams or something, and bread, then we can make sandwiches for the train tomorrow, Ed,” Becca catalogued, writing a few items down on her growing list. “We should be able to get those, and all the normal things on Main Street.”

Ed finished lacing up his boot, holding an apple in his teeth, then gave her a thumbs up.

“Do you need to tell your mom you’re leaving?” Al asked.

_ No, _ Becca thought, trying to clench her teeth against the bitter words she wanted to voice. “She’s probably still getting ready, I can just leave a note.”  _ She won’t bother looking for it, _ her mind whispered before Becca had forced the thought away. She scribbled a few words onto a scrap of paper, then forced a smile. “Now come on, I have so much I want to show you.”

\---

After a frankly ridiculous amount of arguing over prices ( _ Seriously, you leave town for a few days and people think you’ve forgotten how to bargain _ ), Becca guided the Elrics through the garden as the sun set. “Okay, so I just need to pack my things tonight and we can catch the early train tomorrow morning and be in Central by noon.” She pushed the door open, shrugging her long coat off. A note was stuck on the mirror next to the coat rack, reading:

_ Rebecca, _

_ Mr. Pratchett has invited me for dinner and drinks. Make sure the house is tidied up before you go to bed. _

_ -Mom _

Becca bit her lip, crumpling the paper up as she lifted the groceries onto her hip.

“Everything okay?” Ed asked.

“My mom’s gone out with a married man again.” Becca shrugged and gestured the brothers into the kitchen to set their bags on the counter. She tried to move on quickly, dismissing the subject with a curt,“Nothing out of the ordinary. Anyone hungry?”

Luckily, no one pushed the issue and Becca set about cooking a few chicken breasts for soup. While Alphonse hovered in the doorway, Edward had wandered somewhere into the rest of the house. Becca had yet to actually be alone with the younger Elric and she found herself unable to come up with anything to say at all. Not for the first time, and almost definitely not for the last, she wanted to curse her father and his insistence she skip out on school with other children when she had the chance. At least, Becca comforted herself, Al didn’t seem to mind the quiet atmosphere, broken only by the sounds of the oil heating up in its pan and Becca bustling around to start cooking some vegetables. Even so, it didn’t seem the comfortable silence could last forever.

“Becca?” Al asked, his childlike voice still a bit jolting, especially with the hesitant tone he was using now.

“Hm?”

“The bed you gave Brother- was that your brother’s?”

Becca inhaled sharply and she heard Alphonse hurry to apologize, but she shook her head to stop and reassure him, “Don’t worry about it, really. I just haven’t had anyone be that blunt with me for a long time, so it took me by surprise.” She shot him a half smile before forcing herself to focus on draining the cooked chicken for broth, then cutting the chicken, not mentioning that the last person to speak so directly about what they wanted had probably been Will himself. “But yeah, that was Will’s. It’ll be nice to know someone is using it. No one has since he left.”

“You don’t mind?” he said curiously.

“No, I swear,” Becca said. “It might be a little weird, but I grew up with someone sleeping there, so it’s honestly been weirder sleeping in that room by myself.”

Alphonse laughed- no, that wasn’t the right word, he outright giggled. “I get that. Even when I did have my body, Brother and I always shared a room and he would always get allergies in the spring. I can’t imagine not hearing him snore, even if it did keep me awake.”

“God, Al, why didn’t you tell me he snores? I would have put him on the couch if I knew that,” Becca teased.

Al laughed again and promised, “Don’t worry, he only snores when his allergies get bad-”

“I do not have allergies,” Edward protested suddenly. He appeared in the doorway, cheeks red. “I haven’t had allergies since I was like, eight!”

“Sure, Brother,” Becca could practically hear the eye roll in Al’s voice as he said, “I guess I’ve just imagined them for the last seven years.”

Ed made a face at him, then pushed past his brother and jumped up to sit on the countertop. “Anyway,” he said resolutely, his face slowly losing its blush. “Do you know if your dad studied anything that could help us get Al’s body back?”

Becca’s mouth twisted slightly, considering the question. “He didn’t study anything like bioalchemy,” she said slowly. “But I guess I never really thought about that. Honestly, I saw his journal, got my memory back, and locked his entire study. I was going to unlock it for Al to look at tonight if he wanted to, but I can do it after dinner if you want to take a look.”

Edward smiled brightly. “That would be great,” he said, and Becca was struck by the realization that this was the first time she could even imagine him as the teenager he actually was. When her father had talked about the Fullmetal Alchemist, he had been set as this great, unreachable standard, simultaneously a goal to strive for and an idol she couldn’t hope to even come close to. When she’d actually met him, however, he was still this authority figure, someone she had to impress even though they both held the same level. Even after they had made up and become something resembling friends, he seemed to hold himself back. He had hardly talked all through the day after they’d arrived at the house, and when Becca looked his way, he always seemed to be giving her a calculating look. She blinked, clearing her head in time to hear him finish, “...we can still learn something new.” 

Becca nodded quickly. “I’ll do that before I leave then.”

“You’re leaving?” Al asked.

“I’m just going next door to thank Victor for checking in on my mom.” She looked over at the brothers, noticing Ed give a slight eye roll. Becca raised a brow. “It won’t take long,” she said slowly. “Is that okay?”

Edward huffed lightly and looked away. Becca could only imagine the look Alphonse shot his brother before he assured, “It’s not a problem, Becca.” He grabbed Ed’s upper arm, along with the stack of bowls and spoons Becca had set out, and said, “We’ll start setting the table while you finish,” basically pulling his brother out of the kitchen.

Becca looked down at the pot, then back up at the swinging door. “Alright,” she said quietly, hyperaware that no one was listening.

\---

Luckily, the atmosphere had lightened slightly as they sat down for dinner. The brothers had set out two places and Becca was quick to fill the bowls and sit down. Ed seemed too busy eating to pick up whatever odd staring he was doing, and Al, even though he couldn’t eat, was keeping the discussion off of anything too deep by asking about the few pictures hanging on the wall. Becca didn’t mind explaining while she ate, and, before she knew it, her spoon was scraping at an empty bowl. She looked down, surprised.

“What’s wrong?” Alphonse asked.

“Nothing, I just-” Becca stopped suddenly, aware that she couldn’t just blurt out anything about her eating issues, especially with the looks Ed had already been giving her. “Mealtime passes quicker than I’m used to with other people, I guess.” She stood up, pushing the larger pot towards Ed, who was on his third helping and wasn’t slowing down. “I hate to cut this short, but I need to go speak with Victor. I’m gonna go grab some shoes and unlock the study. It’s upstairs, the only door on the left. Go nuts over anything in there.”

“Alright,” Al said. “Thank you for letting us-”

“Don’t worry about it,” Becca said dismissively.

“See you later then,” Ed said, waving. 

Becca gave him a small wave in return before she bounded up the stairs to grab her more comfortable flat shoes and her key ring. After opening the study door, she headed for the door, significantly quieter going down the stairs than she had been going up. As she passed the kitchen, she noticed the Elrics bent over, murmuring to each other, then hurried outside into the night. She didn’t have to take more than a few steps outside her gate before she was swept into a pair of familiar arms.

“Where have you been?” Victor demanded. “I was worried sick!”

Becca smiled guiltily, pulling her State Alchemist watch out from its pocket. “Can we discuss this inside?”

Victor stared at the watch, then looked up at Becca, clearly stunned. “My God.” He looked around, lowering his voice significantly. “Is that… him? That big armored guy I saw earlier?”

Becca shook her head. “You won’t believe this. Come on, I’ll tell you inside.”

Victor rolled his eyes, practically dragging her the rest of the way to his house. She was firmly sat down in front of the fireplace and a plate of samples was placed in front of her before Victor sank into the cushy armchair opposite her and crossed his legs. “Okay, tell me everything.”

“Well, first of all, the Fullmetal Alchemist isn’t the big one in the armor…”

As she talked, Victor’s face seemed to slowly fall with every bit of the story. She left out the bit about the Elrics’ bodies, assuming that the less people who knew about any of them, the better for everyone. However, when she told him about how Will had escaped custody, he sighed heavily, running his hand down his face.

“I can’t believe he’d…”

“I didn’t think he would either.” Gingerly, Becca raised a hand to touch the mark on her throat, casting her eyes down to stare into the fire. “Next time, I won’t be surprised. I’ll be prepared.” She glanced up, and, upon seeing Victor’s pained look, defensively reassured him, “I won’t kill him or anything!”  
Victor sighed again and closed his eyes. “I know, I just- I missed him, and this is the only news I can get? It- it sucks.”

Becca reached over, grabbing his hand and squeezing it tightly. “I know. I’m going to try to get through to him whenever he finds me again. He’s my brother, and I’m not letting him go that easily.”

“I know you won’t,” Victor said, shoving her playfully and trying to lighten the mood. “You’ve both always been stubborn with each other. I’d be more concerned if you were planning to just let him be.”

Becca smiled slightly, but she knew she had to steer the conversation onto a more serious track. She’d come over alone for a reason, after all. She cleared her throat, moving the untouched plate of baked goods aside. “Look, Victor, I did have a favor to ask you. I- I haven’t told my mom, or the Elrics, but I have a lot I need to take care of. You know about Dad’s debt. It’s a lot. I don’t think I’ll be back for a long time. I don’t want to come home until I take care of everything. I don’t want to take breaks. But my mom-” She took a deep breath and decided to just come out with her request. “-would you mind checking in on her whenever you can?” She looked up at Victor’s face to see him staring back at her, confused, and rushed to cover. “I know it’s kind of a lot to ask, and she can be… well, difficult-”

“Becca?”

“But she’s still my mom-”

“Becca…”

“And I still want her to be taken care of-”

“Becca!” Victor said loudly. Becca shut her mouth, meeting his eyes quickly. He mimicked her wide eyed expression, then let his face fall into an easy smile. “It won’t be a problem.”

A heavy breath Becca hadn’t realized she’d been holding suddenly broke free, alongside a smile. “Thank you,” she said gratefully. “I’ll send money-”

“Don’t you dare,” Victor interrupted. “I make plenty here. You need to save your money for that debt and for emergencies so you can come back home sooner.”

“But-”

“If you absolutely need to pay me back, then I have something.” Victor stood up, stretched, and made his way over to a chest of drawers. He pulled out a sealed envelope and handed it over. Becca let out a small “oh” upon seeing the name written in careful calligraphy on the front.

“For Will,” she said reverently.

“Get that to him if you get the chance,” Victor said in a quiet voice, “and we’ll call it even.”

Becca’s breath caught in her throat and she practically threw herself out of her chair, hugging Victor tightly. “Thank you for believing in him,” she mumbled. “I’ll bring him home.”

“I know you will,” Victor said, his arms coming to wrap around her torso. Becca didn’t know how long she stayed in the familiar,  _ brotherly _ embrace, but, she found, it didn’t feel long enough.

After quick goodbyes and a promise to write if anything major happened, Becca hurried through the dark to her home, but climbed the stairs as quietly as she could. She stopped to toss her shoes into her bedroom and slip Victor’s letter into her suitcase, then knocked on the study door before poking her head in. She blinked slowly, taking everything in and truly observing the room. It suddenly occurred to her that this was the first time she’d actually wanted to be in the study since her father’s death, and she almost wondered if maybe it wasn’t such a good idea for her to come in and risk triggering some sort of relapse into her Gate, but she barely had time to consider the possibility before Ed’s voice jolted her from her thoughts.

“We went ahead and did the dishes,” he informed her without looking up from the notes he was scribbling into a journal, “so you don’t have to worry about doing that and you can just pack tonight.”

Becca glanced over at him, then Al, but Ed glanced up at her for only a moment before screwing his gaze onto the papers in front of him. Al chuckled, then shrugged discreetly at Becca’s questioning look. She smiled slightly and sincerely said, “Thank you.”

_ Thank you for not questioning this. Thank you for acting like this is all normal. Thank you for letting me in. Thank you for being my friends. _

She sat down on the carpet near the desk and asked, “So what are we working on?”, crossing her legs and leaning forward as one thought continued to press through her thoughts.

_ Thank you. _

\---

Al insisted she take a break somewhere in the middle of their studying to pack her things so she wouldn’t have to risk forgetting something when they actually left, so Becca wound up neatly stacking the few belongings she thought were worth dragging all over Amestris into her suitcase. She was eager to return to the research though, so she gave only a cursory glance around the room before deciding that she had enough and opened the door to go back to the study. On the way out, she caught sight of herself in the mirror propped up against a wall and took a moment to observe herself for the first time in what felt like forever.

Her hair had gotten noticeably longer in the months since her father had died and stopped enforcing his rules, probably longer than it had ever been.  _ I look like Mom, _ she thought. The image of her mother’s long, cascading brown locks made her scrunch her nose up and reach for a ponytail to pull her hair into a bun. Once her hair was out of the way, however, her eyes fell to the healing wound on her throat. Unconsciously, her hand came up to rest on the scab and she hissed, quickly pulling away. She couldn’t stop staring at the damn thing.

“Becca?” someone said. Becca flinched, turning to Ed with a gasp, who held his hands out in a surrendering motion and said, “You’ve been gone for a while, I was just coming to check on you.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Becca said quickly. “I didn’t mean to drag you away from your research, I’ll be back in just a sec-”

“Whoa, hey, it’s okay,” Ed assured, looking confused. He hesitated for a few seconds, then asked, “Is everything okay?”

Becca looked back in the mirror. “Yeah. Sorry,” she said again. “It’s just- I was just thinking about how that’s definitely going to scar.” It took her a moment to realize how tactless that could sound, talking to someone with not one, but  _ two _ automail limbs, which had to have come with massive scars of their own, but once it registered, she clapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh, my God,” she said, voice muffled. “I’m so sorry-”

And yet Ed was quick to hold up a hand and cut her off. “Stop apologizing. It’s fine. I knew what I was getting into” She could feel his eyes scanning her neck until he noted, “At least I can easily cover mine up.”

“Sorry-” Becca started again, but was stopped by Ed raising a brow at her. She bit her lip awkwardly, then whispered, “Sorry.” Ed rolled his eyes, but Becca was already moving onto the next part of his sentence.  _ Covering it up, _ she contemplated, scrutinizing her room. Her eyes fell on her jewelry box and she let out an audible, “Aha!” when she came up with an idea. “I’m sure I have an old necklace in here,” she said, mostly talking to herself. She indeed found a silver necklace her mother had given her when she hadn’t liked it anymore. A charm engraved with some flower hung off the chain, making it even more perfect for Becca’s use. “And if I can guess the makeup correctly,” she said, touching her hands together and placing them on the necklace. When the alchemic energy faded, Becca had transmuted the flower charm into a symbol she and Ed both recognized.

“Mercury,” Ed said.

“Quicksilver,” Becca corrected as she clipped the necklace on. It fit like a choker, the charm resting right over the scar. She checked it in the mirror and made sure it would cover the scar, then took it off so there wouldn’t be a risk of infection and tossed it into a side pocket of her suitcase. “At least I can use my dad’s symbol for something useful.”

Ed blinked, but brushed it off. “Hell yeah,” he said. “Come on, let’s go back. Al and I have a few questions about your dad back in his glory days.”

Walking back to the study, Becca answered a few of Ed’s questions with stories that her father had told her over the years.

“So he could harden the mercury into weapons? How did he do that without getting frostbite?”

“Really thick gloves with the circles on them,” Becca admitted. “I think that’s where the colonel got the idea, honestly.”

“And no one ever questioned him about it?”

Becca laughed. “Well, he actually worked in the North before I was born, so it wasn’t all that weird. Then he was transferred to the military academy that was here during Ishval, so he didn’t see much action since he was training all the actual recruits.” She went quiet, then thoughtfully said, “Then he was called into Ishval with the other alchemists. I assume they had bigger things to worry about there, and he failed his recertification pretty much right after. I don’t know where the gloves went, though. I think Will might have taken them when he left.”

“Damn.”

“Sorry.”

Ed shoved her slightly. “Stop apologizing, seriously. It’s not your fault.”

Becca bit her tongue to stop another instinctive “sorry”. “Either way,” she said quickly, trying to move on. “He never got around to teaching the technique to me, but I’m sure it’s coded into his research somewhere. If we can’t crack it tonight, we can take some of it with us.”

They returned to the study to find Al still enthralled in an old alchemy book. Becca sighed fondly upon recognizing it. It had been her father’s first resource, then Will’s, then hers, and she could see the familiar wear even from across the room. Her fondness quickly turned to self-consciousness when Al looked up at them and delightedly asked, “Becca, are the notes in purple crayon yours?”

Her face went red and she groaned, her head in her hands as Ed laughed. “I forgot about those.”

Ed peered over his brother’s shoulder and laughed harder. “You misspelled energy.”

Becca groaned.

“And you crossed out mercury on the periodic table and wrote quicksilver,” he said gleefully.

“Oh, shut up!” she grumbled. “Other than stuff like that, that book  _ is _ really helpful. I’d recommend it if you haven’t read it already.”

“I’ll read it tonight,” Al said.

“Actually,” Ed interrupted. “If it’s okay with you, I think we should pack that up and take it with us.” He looked over to Becca, and didn’t continue until she nodded her assent. “Al, Becca was telling me about how her dad’s notes are probably coded. I think we should focus on that.”

Al nodded, closing the old book. “That makes sense, so we can decipher as much as possible and not take as much with us.” He sat up, reaching for a few spare pieces of paper. Ed seemed to take this as an invitation and grabbed Becca’s hand, pulling her to sit down next to them. 

“Where should we start?”

\---

In the end, they stayed up much later than they should have, considering the early train they’d have to catch. Alphonse had to half-drag, half-carry Edward to his bed after he’d caught him dozing off for the third time, and Becca was hardly any better. However, after she’d reassured Al that he didn’t have to move all their research into the bedroom and that he was right across the hall if they needed him, she sat up in bed, pulling her shoes on for the last visit she had to make before leaving. She wrapped a long, pale pink blanket around herself and opened the window, letting cold air spill into the room. She winced as she heard Ed’s bed shift, but after waiting a few moments and not hearing any other signs of him being roused, she slipped out of the window and scurried down the same tree Will had many years ago.

She dropped to the ground into a crouch, noticing a few brightly colored wildflowers in the moonlight. She bent down to pick a few before tugging her blanket a bit tighter against the night chill and starting her journey to the cemetery on the hill.

The gate creaked too loudly in the otherwise silent night, but Becca ignored it. She had set her sights on the familiar headstone and nothing was going to deter her now. The headstone was well taken care of, neatly cleaned of any debris. Becca could only hope it would stay that way after she was gone. She knelt before the stone and closed her eyes.

“Hi,” she murmured. “It’s me. I have so much to tell you.” Becca leaned back, sitting cross legged on the grass as she recounted everything that had happened since she’d last visited Louisa’s grave, from the military letter and her testing process to her assignment under one of her father’s former students and her new partner. “We ran into Will, too,” she confessed, yawning. “He caught me by surprise. It was like when we were younger, but more… real.” She ran a hand over the engraving. “Don’t worry though. I’m not giving up on him. I’ve waited three years to hug my brother again, I can wait a little longer. I’ll hug him for both of us, okay? And I’ll tell him how much you missed him. How much you loved him.” She closed her eyes again against the tears that threatened to spill. “He thought we stopped loving him, but I’ll make sure he knows we didn’t. We all got manipulated by Dad, even more than we knew.” She let her head fall against Louisa’s name and let a few tears fall. She only gave herself a few moments before she stood up, hand resting on the top of the headstone. “I’m leaving for a long time. But I’ll be back. And Will will be with me. I’ll bring him home.” She bent over and pressed a kiss to the headstone. She stood in silence for a few moments, just absorbing the quiet night and letting her hand warm the cold stone. “I love you,” she said. No one replied, but a cool breeze blew over Becca’s skin and she sighed, feeling a little more at peace with the world than she had an hour prior. Without another word, she gathered up the long blanket and made her way by moonlight back to the base of the tree outside her window. She jumped up and climbed back into her bedroom, closing the window behind her.

“Becca?” Ed’s sleepy voice asked. “What are you-”

“I just had to do something,” Becca whispered. “Don’t worry about it, go back to sleep. I’m going to bed now.”

Ed made a sound, apparently an affirmation, then rolled over. Becca climbed into bed, hardly remembering to kick off her shoes before she was asleep.

\---

“Becca,” a familiar voice whispered. Becca groaned, cringing away from the voice. “Come on, it’s three-thirty. We gotta get going soon.” She opened her eyes to see Al’s steel mask hovering over her.

She yawned, sitting up and stretching. “Thanks, Al. Did you already wake Ed up?”

Al nodded. “He’s deciding which of your dad’s books he wants to bring.”

“Great.” Becca kicked off the blanket she’d wrapped herself in and realized she hadn’t changed before she’d fallen asleep the night before. She sighed heavily. “I’ll go make some food for the road after I change into some fresh clothes if you want to go pick a few books out too.”

Al nodded. “I’ll make sure Brother is ready to meet you downstairs in fifteen minutes so we can leave.”

“Sounds good.” Becca followed him out of the room and crept down the hallway to the bathroom, holding her bundle of clothes. She was quick to close the door and shuck off her old clothes in favor of one of her mother’s robes hanging on the back of the door in order to wash her face and at least feel a bit fresher before they left. After brushing the dirt from the last few days off of her face with a washcloth, she pulled on the new outfit she’d picked out. Examining herself carefully in the mirror, she adjusted the fitted blue top and gray pants slightly so no fabric bunched up, then brushed a hand through her hair, which had frizzed up slightly during her quick dressing. She tiptoed past her mother’s bedroom, but it appeared she couldn’t be as lucky the second time.

“Rebecca, what are you doing?”

Becca froze as her mother appeared in her doorway. She was clearly still tipsy from her night out, stumbling slightly, but more awake than Becca would have preferred. Becca stared, petrified, until her mother clicked her fingers and snapped, “Rebecca, I asked what you were doing. I got home late, you know that. I need my beauty sleep.”

“We- the Elrics and I- we’re getting ready to leave. We’ll be going soon.”

Her mom rolled her eyes. “Well, darling, that’s very nice that you want to see them out, but I really don’t see a need this early.”

“No,  _ we’re _ leaving,” Becca said again. “I have to go too, he’s my partner. I told you when I first got here, you said-”

“You did not tell me anything of the sort,” her mother said stonily.

“I did,” Becca insisted. “I already talked to Victor, he’ll be-”

“It isn’t Victor’s job to take care of me.  _ You’re _ my child, not him. He has a business to take care of.”

“And I have a job! A job I had to get because Dad-”

“You said you were going to get the debt taken care of!”

“I tried calling you to give you updates, but you never picked up-”

“That’s hardly an excuse! You should have considered me. You’re not the only one who’s affected by your choices-”

“Can you let me finish one sentence?” Becca hissed, trying to keep her volume low “I had to travel to the city by myself to sort out an issue that was in no way my fault, and I had to take some drastic measures so it wouldn’t affect you and our living situation. It’s an adjustment for both of us.”

Her mother rolled her eyes, flaring her nostrils slightly. “I just think it was selfish of you to make this big change without thinking of how it would affect me.”

Becca’s jaw dropped. “I’m selfish?” she said, taken aback. “ _ I’m  _ selfish?” Her volume raised exponentially, but she found that, once she started shouting, she couldn’t stop, even as she saw the Elric brothers leave the study out of the corner of her eye. “ _ I _ was the one who went to sort out Dad’s mess, by myself, in a city I’d never been to before!  _ I’m _ the one who took a new job to make sure that you’re able to stay in this house and not get kicked out onto the street! And hell,  _ I’ve _ been the one doing everything since Dad died! And even before that!  _ I  _ took care of you, _ I  _ tried so hard to fulfill Dad’s dream of his legacy, all while the only adult in the house who ever actually loved me was dying!” Undiluted rage that she hadn’t allowed herself to feel in years was all suddenly bubbling to the surface and she kept going, angry tears welling up in her eyes. “I’m thirteen! I should be worried about boys and homework and what I want to do when I grow up! But no, I’ve been spending my entire life trying to please my parents, the only ones in the world who were supposed to love me unconditionally! You’ve never done a damn thing for me!”

Her mother still stood in front of her, tall and proud. “I gave birth to you. I lost my family, access to my wealth, all my status, for you-”

“You gave that up because you bet on Dad being your new status symbol and you bet wrong! You only gave birth to me to tie yourself to him, and if I’m not here, serving you, you probably regret it!”

She briefly met a stunned looking Ed’s eye. Al’s armour creaked as he stepped forward. “Becca-”

Becca blocked him out, barrelling on. “I’m keeping this job, and I’m going to keep sending money for you, because you’re my mother. But I will not be contacting you. I will not be at your beck and call.” She stormed away from her, slamming her bedroom door open and grabbing her suitcase before stomping down the stairs to get her coat and boots, both Elrics following her quickly.

“Rebecca!” her mother called angrily. “Get back up here-!”

“No! I’m your daughter, not your servant!” Becca laced up her boot and grabbed her suitcase, her hand on the doorknob. “I finally learned that this is my life, and I’m not letting you run it anymore!” 

Her mom appeared at the top of the stairs. “You leave now and you’re not welcome back, understood?” Becca’s breath caught. She looked around, her eyes tracing over the only home she’d ever known. The ever unchanging furniture was etched into her memory, along with all the happy moments that had been shared with Louisa and Will. She hesitated. Her mother smirked. “Come on, now, dear. Say goodbye to your friends and come back upstairs. We will discuss this more in the morning.”

Looking up at her mother, Becca was struck by how often she’d wished she could have done what she was doing now: run away. Come to think of it, she couldn’t remember feeling happy in this house since her father’s death- maybe even since Louisa’s. She looked around again.  _ This isn’t home, _ she thought, lip quivering.  _ Not anymore. Not with her. _

Becca turned away from her mom, opening the door quickly. Without another word, she walked slowly into the garden. She felt like she was in a trance, one step after another, until she had locked the front gate behind her and became aware of someone shaking her shoulder and calling her name.

She took a shallow breath, realizing what she’d done. Without her consent, the tears in her eyes started rolling down her cheeks, and whoever was shaking her abruptly stopped. Before she could ask, she found herself immersed in a sea of red. Someone was hugging her. Another pair of larger hands found their way around them both. She forced her head up from Ed’s coat, reaching to wipe away her tears as she choked out, “Sorry, I’m sorry, I just-”

“Becca,” Ed said, clear anger just lingering at the edge of his tone. “Do  _ not _ apologize for that.”

“That was amazing,” Al said from behind her. “You stood up to her. You did the right thing.”

“But I-”

“But nothing,” Ed said firmly. He pulled away and Becca forced herself to focus on gripping the handle of her suitcase as tight as possible rather than how much she missed the small symbol of comfort. “We’ve got a train to catch.”

Becca’s eyes widened in horror. “I forgot the sandwich stuff!”

Both boys laughed, and Ed threw an arm over Becca’s shoulders as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

“There’s a dining car,” Ed assured her. “But first, hopefully, we can try and sleep a little more.”

Walking down the moonlit road with two people who she felt like she’d gotten to know more in two days than in thirteen years with her mother, Becca wiped her eyes once more, gave a wet giggle, and started to feel like maybe, just maybe, things would be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy and safe, and i'll see you all in the next update! -c


	4. sonder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, my dears!
> 
> first things first: i want to extend my support and my love to the black community and the black lives matter movement. what's happening in america due to police brutality is absolutely unacceptable. i'm not able to protest, but i've been signing petitions and calling government officials and i strongly encourage everyone else to do the same.
> 
> secondly, sorry this is a bit late in the day (well, at least where i am), but i am on time, which is a good thing. we're like thisssss close to finishing all the past/backstory. one more chapter after this and then we'll be all caught up. ch. 5 is already planned and underway so we should be right on track.
> 
> there's a few important things in this chapter and a little bit of action, which is nice because i feel like there's been a lot of talking and emotions lately lol. this chapter is actually a bit longer than normal. if it's too long that it's boring or you actually enjoy having a bit more going on, let me know, because i think that'll help me figure out what a good length for you guys would be. as always, also don't hesitate to let me know if there's a mistake so i can edit it out.
> 
> sonder (noun)- the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness

Just as they had been coming into Adethal, their trio was silent leaving it. They loaded up, finding two benches facing each other, and Becca once again found herself leaning against the window. Looking out at the only town she’d ever known as home, she felt her stomach lurch and jerked her gaze away.

“Ed, you want the window seat?” she asked, standing up suddenly. Upon seeing the weird look he gave her, she tried to cover with, “I mean, I had it on the way here.”

“Okay, sure,” Ed said slowly. “Thanks.” Becca had to resist the urge to bang her head against the nearby wall as she slid back onto the other end of the bench. At least she could people watch from this angle. There weren’t any others boarding from Adethal, but she could only assume this train was full of people en route to Central, or possibly even further.

She glanced back over at the brothers. Al had pulled one of her father’s notebooks out and appeared to be cross referencing the notes they had made with some sort of new information. He seemed to pick up on Becca watching him and inclined his helmet towards her. She got the feeling that, if he could, he’d be giving her a serene smile. Ed, on the other hand, was already dozing. Almost unconsciously, Becca’s eyes started scanning the other sleeping passengers and she found herself wondering who they were, what their lives contained. She found herself imagining them, each with a happy life of their own. Some, she figured, had settled down. They were coming home to a family, or their friends. But some struck her more as travellers. She could picture them getting off this train, hurrying across the bustling Central station, from platform to platform, to catch their train north, or maybe south. Perhaps one or two were on their way to Creta.

As the train started moving, Becca’s eyes fluttered. Eventually, whether it was due to the steady rocking of the train or her own imagination wearing her out, Becca was lulled off to sleep.

\---

Becca managed to sleep through the acceptable time for breakfast and only woke up when she felt the train jerking to a stop. She started, sitting up so fast that she felt the blood rushing to her head. “What’s happening?” she mumbled while her vision cleared.

She looked over at Ed, who was blinking slowly as he shook himself awake.

“We’re here,” Al informed them, marking and closing his journal.

Ed stood up quicker than Becca and grabbed his suitcase. Becca followed, still rubbing her eyes, then checked her watch and said, “Good news: we’re running on time. Bad news: we haven’t eaten since dinner last night.” As if on cue, Ed’s stomach growled. Becca nodded in his direction and continued, “Do you think the colonel would mind if we got lunch before heading to headquarters? He said not to dawdle-”

“What’s he going to do, yell at us for taking care of ourselves?” Ed said, stretching, as they dismounted the train. He led the way across the platform, decisively saying, “We’ll get lunch in the cafeteria and sneak into one of the briefings with the other soldiers. Hopefully, Colonel Bastard is already on the streets and won’t even notice.”

“Did you even read the briefing from Colonel Mustang, Brother?” Al asked.

Ed’s silence was answer enough. Becca and Al both sighed and he sputtered. “I glanced over it last night!”

“I read it on the train yesterday,” Becca reassured Al. She paused. “But it probably wouldn’t hurt to get updated on what they’re already doing here.” Her stomach growled and she smiled guiltily. “Plus I might be a bit hungry as well.”

Ed grinned at her. “Glad you’re on the right side. Let’s go.”

\---

Al, Ed, and Becca were quick to take a few servings of the roasted chicken and potatoes from the cafeteria line, but they had started getting stares in the line and wordlessly opted to eat outside on the large steps leading to the main building. Becca’s stomach was twisting itself into knots as more and more soldiers marched into the city, her heart rate picking up.

_ What was I thinking? I can’t do this, I can’t hunt a fully grown man, much less take him down! I should have stayed with Mom, I threw everything away for something I can’t even do- _

“Becca?”

“Hm?” Becca said, snapping out of her thoughts.

Ed raised an eyebrow at her, but exchanged a look Becca couldn’t quite read with Al and just asked, “Can you give me a run down on this guy?”

“Um- yeah,” Becca said shakily. “The- the Freezing Alchemist, Isaac MacDougal. He went rogue after serving in Ishval.” She swallowed, reaching to flick through the briefing again. “As far as they’ve observed, he’s using the same techniques he used back when he was working with us, which include-” Her eyes went wide and her lip curled in disgust upon reading what MacDougal had been up to. “Ugh. I’m sure you can imagine what someone in control of water can do to a human body.”

“Why’d he come back now?” Al asked.

Becca checked over the few pages of notes she had. “Doesn’t say,” she said with a shrug. “But these are a couple days old. Maybe they figured it out in the meantime?”

Ed groaned. “Does it even matter? The sooner we track this guy down, the sooner we get to get out of here and keep researching-”

“Ah, Fullmetal, Illusion, good to see you two,” someone said. All three of their heads flew towards the easily recognizable voice and Ed and Becca were quick to snap into a salute. Even Al, with no obligation to do so, stood up respectfully and standing more motionless than Becca had seen him be. Fuhrer Bradley waved them off, standing a few steps down from them. “At ease.” He smiled widely. “We’re glad to have you with us in Central, I’m sure you’ve heard all about the situation we’ve gotten ourselves into.”

“We’re- ah- just doing our jobs, sir,” Ed said, clearly flustered.

“Of course, of course,” Bradley said agreeably. “Perhaps you three will be the key to tracking down MacDougal.”

“We were just about to head in and get briefed, sir,” said Becca, trying hard to keep just the right amount of eye contact with Bradley- enough to be respectful, but not threatening, “then heading out to search.” She ignored the fact that that was likely  _ not _ what they were about to do, if Ed had gotten any say in it, as well as the fact that Bradley had likely picked up on that if he’d heard Ed’s last declaration.

“Well, I hate to distract you, but I actually have some business to discuss with you, Miss Harper.”

She didn’t know what it was about Bradley- maybe it was that he was the head of both the state and military and could have anyone who challenged him disposed of with a word- but being in his very vicinity gave her an uneasy feeling in her gut. Becca gulped, then asked, “Me?”

“Just a quick chat about your financial circumstances,” Bradley said. His tone said he was trying to reassure her, but Becca couldn’t shake the dread that had fallen over her. “I’m sure your companions won’t mind if I steal you away for a few minutes?” She tensed up as his large hand fell onto her shoulder, but didn’t move away. “You two may head into your briefing and Miss Harper and I will take a little walk. We’ll probably be done before you get your orders!” He said with a laugh. Becca forced an awkward laugh, still slightly uncomfortable being casual in any respect with such a powerful man.

She glanced over at Ed, who looked like he felt the same sense of foreboding that she did. “Are you okay with that?” he asked. “We could just wait here-”

Becca considered it for just a moment, but Ed was right. The sooner MacDougal was caught, the sooner they were back on the road. Who was she to halt the Elrics’ quest to regain their bodies? She pasted on a smile and said, “Go ahead. I- I’ll find you later and you can catch me up.” 

That was apparently the right thing to say, since it caused Bradley to remove his hand from her shoulder. He laughed again, shockingly relaxed for someone with an alleged serial killer on the loose in his city who probably had reason to come after him.

“Perfect, come along, Illusion.”

Even though he was no longer touching her, Becca couldn’t help but follow his instructions with a quick glance over her shoulder to see Ed and Al staring bewilderedly after them.

\---

The Fuhrer had led Becca to some sort of balcony overlooking a courtyard without saying a word before he finally stopped. Men were standing at attention below her as a superior relayed orders.

“The troops in Central are the pride of Amestris,” he said after a few more moments of silence between them. “Our entire military is undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with, but, not to overstate my own importance, the ones here have some VIPs to protect.”

_ A show of power, _ Becca catalogued. She looked around, noting the several armed officers standing at attention nearby. She took a large breath before responding, “Of course, sir.”

Bradley chuckled. “I’m sure you already knew that. Your father, I remember, was particularly eager to join up here... You definitely have the potential he didn’t. You could be important here. I don’t remember when a recruit was actually able to surprise me during the State Alchemist exam without giving an ostentatious performance. You’ll have to ask Fullmetal about  _ his  _ test.”

She nodded slowly, turning to him, tearing her gaze away from the organized lines of soldiers below. He, however, was not looking back at her. “Sir, you have to believe me, my mother and I didn’t know about the debt-”

Bradley held up a hand to stop her. “Relax, Illusion. You’re not being punished further. I only wanted to make sure you were aware of all the conditions of your… commitment. It’s the least I can do for a legacy like yourself.” Although he wasn’t looking at her, he seemed to take her silence as agreement and continued. “As you know, State Alchemists usually make 10,000 cenz per month as compensation for their time, with an additional 2,500 cenz allotted for a private research fund. However, with your debts, we do have a few options-”

“Just cut my general salary in half,” Becca said quickly.  _ 5,000 a month, plus 2,500 going into an emergency fund is better than I’ve had in months- years actually. With the 5,000 alone, I should be able to house and feed myself most of the time  _ and _ send some home for Mom. And besides, it’s not like I’m a stranger to stretching funds if needed. _ It hardly warranted a discussion, and definitely was not worth arguing with the commander in chief over.

Bradley’s brow raised slightly as he focused on her face for the first time. He stared at her, deadpan, until she started worrying that she’d been too direct. What if she’d offended him? Maybe 5,000 cenz a month towards the debt wasn’t enough-

“That sounds like a suitable arrangement.” 

Becca exhaled thankfully. “Thank you, sir. If that’s all, I’ll just… head back to find the Elrics.” She stepped backwards, ready to turn on her heel and sprint back to the steps to wait for the Elrics. 

She felt as taut as a bowstring, about to snap when Bradley called out, “Illusion.”

She froze in place.

“I have a warning for you as well,” Bradley said, suddenly more serious than he’d been the entire meeting. She went quiet, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Bradley got closer to her, like he was telling her a secret. “Your father, unfortunately, racked up millions of cenz in debt. And I regret to inform you that an amount that high shifts to a life debt if it is not paid.”

Becca paled, her eyes widening. “I-”

“I’m sure that won’t be a problem,” Bradley said, his tone getting lighter as he leaned back, “but I thought you ought to know.” He smiled a grandfatherly smile down at her, making her cringe internally. “I trust you don’t need an escort back?”

The dismissal, if unofficial, was clear as day. She bowed slightly, keeping her eyes up, watching the Fuhrer’s relaxed form. If a passerby didn’t know what they’d been talking about, they would think he could have just remarked on the weather.

“No, sir,” she said, then, for good measure, added, “Thank you, sir.”

As soon as Bradley raised a hand in farewell, Becca backpedalled as fast as her legs would carry her and tried to breathe deeply. She knew she was paler than normal and had to fight the urge to rake a hand through her hair as she pushed the doors leading back to the steps open. It only took a few seconds to see both brothers waiting on the second landing, so Becca forced her expression into one of true neutrality as she went to meet them. “How was the briefing?” she asked before either of them could question her. “Have they learned anything new?”

Ed rolled his eyes. “They said something about an anti establishment organization, but I really don’t think it matters-” Al interjected with a stern, “Brother!”, but Ed firmly ignored him. “What’s important is that they gave us permission to go out on our own instead of with the others.” He paused, looking at her for just a few seconds too long. Becca bit her lip, hoping he hadn’t noticed anything off. “How was your walk?”

Looking between Edward and Alphonse, Becca forced the truth down. “Nothing eventful. I just had to arrange a payment plan.”

“That’s weird that the Fuhrer would do that,” Al said. “It seems like something he could send someone else to do.”

“He said it was because I’m a legacy,” Becca lied. “He knew my father.”

_ And he’s right, _ she thought firmly.  _ It doesn’t matter. I’m going to pay, everything’s going to be fine, and I won’t even have to worry about it because it’s not going to affect anything. _

However, she still would rather not dwell on that particular subject lest the Elrics start asking too many uncomfortable questions. The less Becca had to lie to her new (and only) friends, the better. So, pasting the same fake smile on her face as before, Becca tried to move on, asking, “So where does one start hunting a killer?”

\---

Although they meandered through alleyways for hours, it wasn’t until night had already fallen that they heard any updates on MacDougal, but once there were clues to his whereabouts, Ed was off, Becca and Al jogging to catch up. A muffled scream followed by a thump brought Ed to a halt.

“I’m going to go straight at him,” Ed said quietly. “Al, head to the other end and be ready to head him off from that side.”

“Right, Brother.”

“Becca?”

“Hm?”

Ed smirked. “I don’t suppose you can climb?”

\---

The view from the top of the Central City Post Office would be a spectacle to behold on any other night, but tonight, Becca couldn’t afford to take in the darkened city. Her gaze was trained down on the hushed conversation between Ed and the ex-Freezing Alchemist, watching in case things got out of hand. As Edward transmuted a weapon, she tensed up, but she knew she was the ace up their sleeve and had to stay put until things got really bad. Ed had been serving for over a year- the Freezer most likely knew him and his abilities. But news of Becca likely hadn’t reached him or the association he was with yet, and in case he was able to escape, it was better that they only knew what Ed could do, rather than that there were two of them. She bit her lip when Al joined the fray, but when MacDougal was able to get a hand on Ed, activating his circle and destroying his bright red coat, she imagined what could have happened if that arm wasn’t metal and decided that things had gotten threatening enough to warrant her intervention. She leaped down from her perch as MacDougal tossed Al over his shoulder, but Becca landed in the same spot, kicking the Freezer backwards and using him as a springboard to hit the ground rolling, stopping in a crouch near Ed as he tossed his coat away.

MacDougal winced, then something seemed to click. “Oh, I understand…” he said slowly. “A young, gifted alchemist who doesn’t need a transmutation circle, and has an automail right arm. You’re the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric!” His face contorted in confusion. “So it’s not you?” he asked Al.

Al rubbed the back of his neck and sputtered out, “Uh, no… I’m actually his younger brother, Alphonse Elric.”

“But he’s a runt,” MacDougal pointed out.

Ed growled. “I am not a runt!” he said angrily. “Could a runt do this?” He clapped again, transmuting a wall holding MacDougal in place.

“I knew you were young, but I never imagined the Fullmetal Alchemist was just a little kid,” MacDougal said, his voice slightly altered from the stone squishing his face.

“Don’t call me little!” Ed shouted, creating a huge hand out of the wall next to him and throwing MacDougal to the other side of the alley.

Ed’s chest heaved and Becca mumbled a small, “Wow”, blinking slowly.

Al quietly said, “I don’t think he meant your height, Brother.”

After a moment of consideration, Ed swivelled towards him and snapped, “Well even if he wasn’t, he was still pissing me off!”

“So that’s one of the short rants?” Becca asked Al.

Al’s shoulders heaved slightly when he responded, “That was one of the quieter ones.”

A few minutes later, Becca hovered near Ed while he restored his coat and a group of military police led MacDougal away. She could hear one of the soldiers mistaking Al for the Fullmetal Alchemist and she smiled slightly, wondering if this was going to be a common occurrence. Luckily, Ed did not hear the misunderstanding and just pulled his coat back on as he stood up.

“Ready, Becca?”

“Yep,” she said, pushing off the dirty wall of the alleyway she’d been leaning on.

“Hey, Al, let’s get out of here!” Ed called.

Al waved to the officer he was talking to, chastising his brother as they walked. While the boys bickered, Becca’s ears pricked up upon hearing a thump from the group of MPs taking MacDougal in the other direction. She spun around in time to see the Freezer on the ground, pressing his hand into a puddle nearby. Becca shouted wordlessly. She covered her eyes as she was blinded, then coughed when the hot water invaded her lungs.

“What the hell?” Ed wheezed.

“Steam!” Becca said, putting her hand down to see the MPs all doubled over. “He’s gone!   
\---

Sitting in Mustang’s temporary office, Becca kept her back as straight as possible while the colonel stared at them silently over his desk. Finally, it seemed that Mustang had gotten fed up with the silence and casually remarked, “You two underestimated your opponent.”

Ed rolled his eyes from where he was lounging next to her. “Whatever. Who is this guy? We hardly got any information from your crappy briefing.”

“You were all supposed to go to one here before you went out.”

Becca looked over at Ed, aware that she looked slightly guilty since it had been her who’d skipped out on the second briefing, then down at her lap.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Ed said, sounding annoyed. “Just fill us in on everything  _ you _ apparently missed.”

Mustang huffed, but gave up on goading Ed and started explaining a bit more about MacDougal. The most important new information was that they were authorized to kill him, the thought making Becca wince. Ed seemed similarly uncomfortable when he curtly informed Mustang, “I’m not killing anyone.”

“I’m not going to make you. All you have to do is contain him,” Mustang said coolly. Becca heard him turn and felt him staring at her. “On an unrelated note, Illusion-” Becca sat up straighter, peering up at him, “-have you discussed your debt yet?”

Becca let out a breath. “Yes, sir. I made arrangements with the Fuhrer earlier today.”

“Ah,” Mustang said, nodding. “I’m sure it was a courtesy to let you know about the-”

Her eyes widened and she cut him off with a curt, “Yeah, yeah. I told him it wasn’t a problem,” giving him a hard look.

Mustang returned her hard stare with one of his own. Becca jutted her chin out defiantly, daring him to mention it again. There were a few seconds when no one said anything before Mustang stepped back to his desk. “Very well, as long as it’s taken care of.” He shuffled through a stack of papers, apparently finding a relevant one. He looked over it, then gave her a look that was much gentler than he had been in any of their interactions so far. “Are you sure 5,000 cenz will be enough?”

“Yes, sir,” Becca said again. “I’ll send some of it home, but I can take care of everything.”

The colonel’s eyes flicked from hers to Ed, sitting on her other side. Becca turned quickly enough to catch Ed making another one of his faces before he firmly fixed his expression into one of strong ire. Becca was about to snap and ask him what his problem was when the door slammed open.

“Roy! I heard you got put in charge of catching the Freezer! One hell of an assignment, but maybe it’ll get you that big promotion, eh?”

Mustang’s face fell at the joyful voice and Becca elected to quit fuming in Ed’s direction to stare at the bespectacled stranger, who either didn’t notice Mustang’s expression, or just didn’t care once he noticed Alphonse sitting near the door. “Oh, hey! This wouldn’t happen to be the Elric brothers, would it? And you must be Rebecca Harper!” he stepped forward, shaking Al’s metal hand with more energy than any one person had the right to have. “It’s an honor to meet the youngest State Alchemist ever! I’m Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes, pleasure to meet you-”

Apparently sensing the growing hostility towards Hughes radiating off of Ed, Al quickly interrupted. “Um… I’m actually his younger brother, Alphonse,” he said quickly.

“What? You’re the Fullmetal Alchemist? I didn’t know you were so-”

“Hughes,” Mustang cut in. He suddenly seemed more tired (or maybe he wasn’t in the mood to hear Ed shouting). “Why are you still here? You should have gone home already.”

“Well, actually, I do have some business to take care of,” Hughes said, adjusting his glasses. “You three, you haven’t checked in with the barracks yet, correct? That means you’ll be coming with me.” He reached into his jacket and all three teenagers flinched away, but all that he pulled out was a picture of a woman holding a small girl. He moved the picture to reveal his own smiling face in real time. “My wife, Gracia, and my daughter, Elicia, would love to have you!”

Before Becca could react, Hughes was practically dragging them along, babbling about his two year old and his wife. Becca only got a glance of Mustang looking exhausted before the heavy door slammed shut behind them. It was a short walk from Central Command to the Hughes’ apartment building that was mostly taken in silence. She didn’t know why the Elrics were so quiet, but Becca herself was stewing on Mustang’s sudden apparent care for her. By the time they reached the Hughes family home, however, Becca decided that it was probably just a product of his obvious tired state and that it wasn’t worth worrying about tonight, especially since it seemed like they already had an odd night ahead of them.

As soon as his wife opened the door for them, Hughes was all over his daughter, showering her in adoration and attention. The little girl giggled, squirming around, and Becca couldn’t stop a tiny smile from stretching over her face. Despite being occupied with her father’s undivided attention, it only took a few minutes for Elicia to notice them standing there and start staring silently up at them.

“These are our guests,” Hughes explained, still crouched next to Elicia. “Those two are the Elric brothers,” he said, pointing to the Elrics, “and that’s Rebecca.”

Elicia gave all three of them a thoughtful look, then pointed to Al and declared, “Big brother,” and switched to Ed, saying, “Little brother.”

Ed’s face fell and he huffed angrily. “Hello, Elicia,” he forced out, clearly trying not to freak out on a kid. “My name is Edward Elric. This,” he said, pointing a thumb at Al, “is my younger brother, Alphonse. You see?  _ Younger _ .”

“Younger means little,” Elicia said decisively. “You’re little.”

Becca could practically see the steam coming out of Ed’s nose and she had to stifle a laugh while Al picked up a fuming Ed, trying to get him to calm down as Gracia gestured them inside for dinner. Becca, meanwhile, offered a hand to Elicia, who was still staring at them over her father’s shoulder. Elicia giggled and grabbed her index finger, shaking it vigorously, no doubt imitating her father.

“Hey, squirt,” she said quietly, pulling out Will’s old nickname for her. “I’m Becca.”

Gracia had clearly been warned they were coming, since she’d already set out six place settings and waved them to a full table.

“I hope you’re hungry,” Hughes said as he sat down in his own spot. “Gracia’s cooking is delicious!”

“Try not to bore them, dear,” Gracia teased. She turned to the three of them and said, “ _ I _ hope he didn’t wear you three out on the way over here.”

Ed hadn’t taken his eyes off of the food, nearly drooling when he excitedly said, “Wow… thanks!” He dug straight in, which was good for Becca, since both Gracia and her husband were too entertained by Ed shovelling an inhuman amount of food into his mouth (as well as the praise he showered upon Gracia’s skills whenever he took a breath) to notice that Becca and Al were hardly touching their plates, at least until Hughes intentionally looked at them. Becca was quick to shove a bite into her mouth to avoid being called out, but Al couldn’t do the same.

“Alphonse, how are you supposed to eat with that armor? Surely you can take it off for dinner at least.”

Al froze, Ed stopped with a bite halfway to his mouth, and Becca forced herself to swallow her food in case she needed to help cover Al’s condition.

“Well, actually…”

“He’s not allowed to!” Ed stammered. “It’s for his alchemy training, he has to wear it all the time!” Al chuckled nervously, nodding along with the story while Ed assured, “I’ll just eat enough for both of us.”

His words seemed to have triggered something in Elicia, who delightedly chirped, “Training! Choo choo!”, thus distracting her father and sending him into another round of cooing for the rest of the meal. Becca hesitantly took another small bite, already glancing around to make sure no one was actually observing her food intake.

\---

After dinner, Becca got dragged into playing with Elicia while Ed showered and Al helped Gracia to prepare the room the three of them would be sleeping in. The kid dragged Becca to a tiny kitchen set, sitting her down and beginning a game of restaurant with little wooden food. The first few times she requested Becca order something, she just asked for one of the food things she recognized, but once, she requested a chocolate bar, which Elicia did not have, then pretended to be affronted when Elicia said she couldn’t get that, which made Elicia shriek with laughter, especially when the little girl ran off across the living room and Becca stood up to give chase, laughing along with her. They circled the room a few times before Elicia ran over to her father, sitting on the couch with a fond smile on his face, and tried to climb into his lap to escape, only to burst into more peals of laughter when Hughes grinned down at her and started tickling her.

“Daddy!” Elicia giggled, kicking around until he let her go. “No tickling…” she said breathlessly, crawling off of him and attaching herself to Becca’s leg, making Becca halt in her tracks. Elicia tilted her head back to look at her, then made grabby hands up at Becca. For her part, Becca looked over to Hughes. He gestured for her to go along with what Elicia wanted, so she hesitantly bent down, pulling her onto her hip. Elicia stuck her thumb into her mouth, laying her head down on Becca’s shoulder. Becca instinctively started swaying side to side, remembering how Louisa used to hold her and rock her whenever she couldn’t sleep, and found herself humming Louisa’s lullaby for the first time since her death. Despite her exuberant energy just moments before, it appeared that a game of chase was Elicia’s last burst for the night. Her eyelids started drooping and she yawned.

“Here,” Hughes said gently, scooting over on the couch. When Becca hesitated, he casually joked, “Believe me, she’ll get heavy soon. You might as well sit before that happens.”

Slowly, trying not to disturb Elicia, Becca lowered herself down onto the couch, careful to keep her gaze straight ahead. An awkward silence stretched between them as Elicia’s breathing evened out until-

“You’re good with her,” Hughes remarked thoughtfully. “Do you have younger siblings?”

“I- ah- no,” Becca said quickly. “I’m the younger one, actually.”

Hughes nodded sagely. “You must have had good parents, then.”

“Um… you could say that.” 

The conversation stopped when Elicia shifted slightly, sighing as she drifted in and out of consciousness, then settled back into place.

“Lieutenant Colonel,” Becca said thoughtfully. “Colonel Mustang- he said he knew my father. Did- did you?”

Hughes sighed, the couch groaning as he leaned back. “Yes, he taught both of us at the academy. We knew he had a family, but I honestly never thought of him as a family man.”

Becca laughed hollowly. “Oh, no, he wasn’t.” She looked from Elicia to Hughes and observed, “He wasn’t. Not like you. He was my first teacher, my first drill sergeant, and my first commanding officer, but… I don’t think he was really my dad. My father, yes, but… well, Elicia’s just really lucky to have you and Miss Gracia.”

“Nah,” Hughes countered. “We’re the lucky ones to have gotten her.”

His words pushed Becca back to a dark bedroom, huddled into Louisa’s warmth. Comforting her, reassuring her.  _ “Of course I’m okay. I have you two.” _ She smiled sadly, closing her eyes.

“You alright?”

“Yeah,” Becca muttered, forcing herself to swallow through the thickness in her throat. “Yeah, you just remind me of my stepmom. She- she died last year. It just hits you sometimes, you know?”

Hughes reached over, squeezing her knee. “Of course.” He stood up, stretching, then held out his arms for Elicia. “You did the hard part,” he said. “I’ll go put her down, you go ahead and get ready for bed. I’m sure Roy is going to run you three into the ground searching for MacDougal tomorrow. You’ll need your sleep.”

Becca gave him a half smile while handing over the sleeping girl. “Alright. Thank you for talking with me, sir.”

“Any time. And, for the record-” He had stopped, facing her, in the doorway, careful to mind Elicia’s limp form. “I already like you more than I liked your father, in the classroom or the battlefield.” He turned, heading down the hall, calling out a quiet, “Goodnight, Becca.”

“Goodnight, sir.” Much like Hughes had done when he stood up, Becca stretched her arms above her head, not realizing how tense she’d been holding Elicia until the weight was suddenly gone, then made her way to the spare bedroom, flicking off all the lights except for a lamp in the corner on her way out. Inside the bedroom, two beds were pushed against opposite walls with a large pile of pillows and blankets serving as a third (unneeded) bed. Becca could hear Al’s high voice in the kitchen, along with Gracia’s and running water, but Ed was on one of the beds, laying back with his hair spread across the pillow. Becca crossed to the other bed, popping her suitcase open to pull out her pajamas. “I’m gonna go get ready for bed,” she alerted Ed, unsure if he was actually awake or not.

Ed gave an affirming grunt, then went silent while Becca gathered her things. It was only when Becca opened the door to find the bathroom that Ed had sat up, arms around his automail leg, and asked, “Becca?”

“Yeah?” she responded, glancing over her shoulder at him.

There were another few seconds of silence, and then, “Are you actually going to send money to your mother?” The color drained from Becca’s face, but she quickly looked down at her feet before he could see. 

“Yeah,” she said again.

“Why?”

“I have to.”

“ _ Why? _ ” Ed stressed. He had leaned forward, golden eyes hard as he stared her down.

“I just do, okay?”

“No, not  _ okay _ !” he snapped. Becca shrunk away, her breathing picking up. Ed continued in an authoritative tone, not quite yelling, but she could tell he was frustrated. “The whole time we were at your house, you let her walk all over you! She was taking advantage of you! And you know it, you knew it when you left, but you’re still going to-”

Becca’s own annoyance from Mustang’s office suddenly returned full force at that particular comment. “And what did that get me?” she demanded. “I got kicked out!” That time, it was Ed’s turn to flinch, and he had the good grace to look a bit ashamed having brought that up, but Becca was already on a roll. “My mom is the only one I have left, and I just threw that away! I-” She stopped, the anger draining out of her as her gaze fell back down to her bare feet. “I ruined it. The least I can do is- is try to fix it so I can have  _ something _ to go back to.”

Ed went quiet. Becca didn’t want to look up, afraid of what she’d see, so she just mumbled out, “I’m sorry for raising my voice. You- you’re right, I just- I can’t give up the only person I have left-”

“You have us,” Ed said suddenly. Becca froze, staring at him in surprise. Ed blanched. “Me and Al,” he hurried to explain. “You know all about us, we know all about you. I mean, it’s only fair that we all watch out for each other-”

A warm feeling started spreading across Becca’s chest as he spoke. After a few moments, she managed to look up and gave him a small smile. “Thanks, Ed.”

Ed cut himself off and looked away from her. “Yeah, whatever,” he mumbled. “Like I said, it’s fair-”

“Wait,” Becca said, realization dawning with the sudden revelation of Ed’s blatant dislike of her mother. “Is  _ that _ why you’ve been making those faces at me?”

Across the room, Ed’s face went red. “I was not-”

“It is!” she said gleefully. “Oh, my God, I should have caught on sooner, you only ever did it when I mentioned her-”

“You  _ were _ annoying me by letting her step all over you-”

Becca threw her head back, laughing, then stifled a yawn, abruptly halting her giggles. She blinked, seeing Ed’s still red face, and found another smile sneaking across her face. “I really do need to get ready for bed,” she said. “I think the Lieutenant Colonel had a point when he said Mustang is going to be hell bent on catching MacDougal tomorrow.”

“Who cares about that bastard?” Ed said, flopping back onto his bed and throwing his flesh arm over his eyes.

“Okay, stay up as late as you want,” she said with a shrug. “But it’ll mean we’re stuck here under orders even longer.” The only response was a small huff from Ed’s bed, although she couldn’t see him. Becca rolled her eyes. “Goodnight, Ed,” she said pointedly.

“Night, Bex,” Ed mumbled, his blankets ruffling and slightly obscuring his words as he shifted around.

Becca stopped in the doorway, wondering if she’d mistaken what he’d said, but was careful to keep going before he noticed and questioned her. She tried to push down the smile threatening to bubble up once again and didn’t let out her breath until she had firmly shut the bathroom door behind her.

####  **\---**

Sunlight filtered through the window, birds chirped as they flew by, and Becca was currently awake and hating both of them. She had scrunched her eyes closed and turned around to avoid the sunlight shining directly into her eyes, as well as buried her head under her pillow to block out the incessant twittering of the birds, but she was gradually forcing herself to accept that, apparently, her memories of the transmutation returning wouldn’t be enough to stop her headaches. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and letting her fingers linger near her temples for a momentary relief from the pounding in her head, then slid onto the floor to retrieve her suitcase. Rummaging for the teabags she’d stashed in there after going shopping in Adethal, she could feel Al giving her a strange look, no doubt because of her total ignorance of him as she had to stop and rock forward to distract herself from the growing pain.

Eventually, the wave passed and Becca was able to stand up and blink blearily, finding Al’s large form leaned against the wall with a book open in his lap. She could tell from the faint, slow breathing that Ed was still fast asleep in the other bed, so she just murmured, “Morning.”

“Good morning,” Al said, matching her volume. “Are you alright?”

“Headache,” she said. She winced as another spike of pain arose, then forced herself to swallow thickly and continue, “Tea helps a bit, usually.”

Al made an understanding noise and creaked slightly as he stood up. Becca opened her mouth to object- the  _ You don’t need to stop what you’re doing _ already forming on her tongue- when he said, “I need a break. Mind if I join you?”

“Yeah- I mean, no,” she said, squeezing her eyes shut. Conversation was difficult enough right after one had woken up, but a pounding headache surely wasn’t helping. “No, I don’t mind.”

“Are you okay?” Al asked. Becca could hear him stepping forward and felt his cool metal hand come to rest on her forehead, as if to feel for a fever. She had to stop herself from sighing and leaning into the touch.

She looked up at him, then cast a furtive glance over to Ed and whispered, “I’ll explain in the kitchen, I don’t want to wake him up.”

The suit of armor creaked as Al nodded, but, even after he’d removed his hand, he still hovered nearby as Becca shuffled out of the room, hoping a teapot would be somewhere easy to find, since the sun was just barely over the horizon and no one  _ should _ be up so early. She glanced around the kitchen as subtly as she could, but Al still caught on.

“I’ll get the water started,” he said. “You go sit down.”

“Al, really, I can-”

Al leveled his glowing red gaze on her. Sternly, he ordered, “You  _ need _ to sit down. You look like you’re going to be sick,” then, in a lighter tone, “Either way, Miss Gracia showed me where the kettle is, so I know where it is, and I won’t tell you.”

Becca looked up at him sullenly before another bout of pain shot to the forefront of her head and she swayed slightly, then collapsed into a chair. She hissed in pain, pressing the heels of her palms into her eye sockets and rocking back and forth again to try and distract herself. In the background, Al had moved away, crouching and knocking a few things out of the way before the faucet ran and the stove flickered to life. Once Becca forced herself to take a deep breath, she found Al already sitting across from her, arms folded.

“Becca, what-?”

“They were never this bad before,” she defended, then winced at how accusatory she sounded. Alphonse hadn’t done anything wrong, he was just trying to help. “I’m sorry- I just-” She sighed, rubbing her temples again. “Ever since the accident, it was kind of an ‘all the time’ thing. Like I always had a tension headache, and some days were better than others, but most of the time, it wasn’t enough to, like, keep me bedridden, and it was- it wasn’t ever like this. I didn’t know why, but I thought it might have had something to with-”

Al sat up straighter as he connected the dots on his own. “Your memories…”

She nodded. “And it did disappear when I got them back. The tea has always helped before, so hopefully it’ll help even though it’s more intense this time around.” She laughed bitterly. “I guess it’s another perk of the ‘Truth’. Give up the constant discomfort for occasional agony. I won’t say I don’t deserve it.”

“Maybe you should stay here today,” Al suggested. “I’m sure the colonel and Mr. Hughes wouldn’t mind-”

“No!” Becca exclaimed desperately, bolting to her feet. Unfortunately, the quick movement was too much and she forced herself to sit back down as her entire body lurched. Once she regained her balance, she focused on Al, saying in a hushed voice, “You can’t tell anyone! I- I thought they’d stopped since I read my father’s journal, so I didn’t put anything about them on my State applications- this- this could get me fired if they think I’m unfit for battle or whatever!”

Al hesitated. “Becca, I really think-”

“Please, Al?” she pleaded.

He heaved a sigh. “Alright, fine, I won’t tell. But when it’s just us three, you need to take it easy, okay?”

Becca let out a breath. “Fine, thank you-”

Al held up a hand. “And,” he continued, “You have to tell Brother.”

Her jaw dropped, and she sputtered, “Now hold on-”

“He won’t tell anyone if you don’t want him to,” Al insisted. The kettle whistled and he stood up to retrieve it, along with a mug, while Becca considered his terms. He sat down, pushing the mug of hot water across the table as he did. “Besides, he’ll find out anyway if we’re all travelling together. I’m sure it’ll be better to hear about it now so that we can be prepared later instead of finding out as it’s happening and panicking later.”

She did ponder that as she placed a tea bag into the mug, then groaned. “Are you always this… right?” she demanded.

He chuckled. “I like to think I am.”

Becca went back to massaging her temples. “I’ll talk to him when he wakes up.” She sighed, looking down at her mug and swishing the bag around, if only to do something to keep her hands busy. “I’m going to make breakfast,” she said resolutely. Even though standing up before had made her nauseous, she attempted it once more, significantly slower this time and using the table for leverage, and successfully made it to her feet before Al could protest.

“Oh, you two are up early.”

Becca’s eyes flicked towards the door, automatically tensing up until she realized it was just Gracia and winced. “I’m sorry, did we wake you?”

“No, no, Maes woke me up,” Gracia said fondly. “Trust me, that’s more preferable to Elicia, but she’ll be out soon, I’m sure.” She inhaled deeply. “Is that peppermint?”

“Ah- yeah,” Becca said, going a bit pink. “Just some tea, but I was just going to start something for everyone-”

“Rebecca, there’s no need for that,” Gracia said, her tone similar to Al’s stern one earlier. “You’re a guest.”

Becca blinked, then furrowed her brows. She knew Al would be giving her an expectant look if he could, but she couldn’t make herself just sit down again, so, in a very small voice, she simply asked, “May I help?”

Gracia smiled at her. “That would be lovely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you and your loved ones are all staying healthy and safe, and i'll see you all in the next update! -c


	5. ilinx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello my dears!
> 
> holy shit, this one was a doozie. expect some serious editing in the next couple of days, because i'm not 100% thrilled with this chapter, but i wanted to stick to my schedule. unfortunately, i've been on vacation for the last week with varying degrees of signal, depending on where my fam and i are in the most boring set of states in the us. that means i've had a lot of time to think about writing, but not the resources to actually write.
> 
> luckily, i'll be back home in a couple of days, so sticking to the schedule should get significantly easier. people seemed to be okay with the longer chapters and i'm going to keep aiming for those, but this one is about the same length as the others just because i wanted to get it out there (it might get longer once it's not almost midnight my time and i can actually go ahead and revise it).
> 
> anyways... this was the final chapter in the past! i've been going off of brotherhood because that's what i have the most knowledge/access to, so i'm not going to include anything about youswell on screen, so the next chapter will pick up in present time liore. i'm super excited to finally get into the meat of the story and i hope you guys are too.
> 
> ilinx (noun)- a form of play that creates a temporary disruption of perception, for example by inducing vertigo, dizziness, disorientation, or frenzy

Becca pushed her eggs around her plate, nursing a second cup of tea, her headache finally starting to abate when Hughes hurried into the kitchen, clearly agitated.

“Alphonse, Rebecca,” he said quickly. “Where’s Edward?”

“Brother’s still sleeping,” Al said.

“What’s wrong, sir?” Becca asked.

“The MacDougal situation got more serious overnight.” Hughes had leaned up against the counter as he spoke. Gracia passed him a mug of coffee and received a kiss on the cheek before he informed them, “He broke into Central Prison to speak with a high security prisoner, the Crimson Alchemist, Solf J. Kimblee, but that’s all he did… talk. Kimblee was still there this morning.”

“That’s… weird,” Becca said, faintly recognizing the name from her father’s old stories but not caring enough to remember anything else about him at the moment. “Why would Kimblee let him leave without him?”

Hughes shook his head. “We don’t know, but the Fuhrer decided that was the last straw.” He looked up, more serious than he’d been the night before. “He’s given a shoot to kill order.”

Becca’s eyes widened and Al audibly gasped.

“I’ll go get Brother,” Al said, heading out of the kitchen and muttering, “He’s not going to be happy…”

“You should go get ready,” Hughes advised, looking over to Becca. “We’ll need to get out there ASAP.”

She nodded and finished her slice of toast, then stood to follow Al. “Thank you for breakfast, Mrs. Hughes,” she said politely and drained her mug before setting all her things in the sink and hurrying back to the guest bedroom to get ready.

\---

When they did make it onto the street after Ed practically inhaled a few slices of bread and cheese, the military was already swarming everywhere. Hughes disappeared, presumably to take charge of a group of his actual subordinates somewhere, leaving Ed, Al, and Becca to wander and try to gather what intelligence they could without asking any commanding officers directly, given the brooding look Ed had adopted once he was told about how the Fuhrer expected MacDougal to be killed. Becca opted to leave him alone. She herself wasn’t pleased either. She knew it came with the job description, but, suddenly, she realized there was a significant difference between being told that she  _ could _ be ordered to kill someone and actually receiving the order. The consistent pressure behind her eyes wasn’t helping, and, while the peppermint has helped exponentially, she guessed that the headache would remain and she’d just have to get through it until it passed.

“Get a medic!” one man shouted. Becca glanced over towards the voice, only to see another officer slumped against the wall, skin red and steaming slightly. She winced, resisting the urge to turn away, but glanced over to see a similarly disturbed look on Ed’s face.

“A steam explosion,” he observed. “If he raises the temperature of water fast enough, it explodes like a bomb.”

“And humans are 70% water,” Becca finished.

“Report to Colonel Mustang- five men dead!” another person called out.

“Five men…” Becca said quietly.

Ed growled, kicking the ground. “We’ve got to find him before he hurts anyone else.”

As the boys walked away, Becca stayed rooted in her spot, unable to look away from the apparent fifth victim of MacDougal’s.  _ No, the fifth victim today, _ she thought, shuddering.  _ Who knows how many people he killed yesterday… or before we even got here. _

“Becca?” one brother asked, but she was too lost in thought to realize which one it was.

“Coming…” she said. It appeared, however, that her hesitation might have cost them as an explosion rocked a nearby alleyway. Heads flew through the air and Becca’s heart clenched for a moment before she realized they were made of stone. She wrinkled her nose when one fell at her feet, a mustachioed visage staring up at her. “Who…?”

Ed smacked a hand to his forehead. “Major Armstrong!” He picked up the pace again, starting to run in the direction the explosion had come from.

“That does not answer my question!” she said indignantly, jogging to catch up with him as he and Al turned swiftly into the alley.

MacDougal, currently under attack from a large, almost entirely bald man in a military uniform, turned upon hearing their footsteps. Almost before they could react, he’d thrown a flask at them, transmuting the water inside into steam once again. It was only Al’s quick thinking, grabbing Becca by the wrist and pulling her into his chest, that kept her lungs clear. Her shoulder pressed against Ed’s in the same instant that she realized Al must have done the same thing to his brother, only for her next thought to be,  _ Duh, obviously. He probably did to Ed first, I was just an afterthought. _

“Thanks for the save, Al,” Ed said from next to her, knocking on Al’s metal chest. “You okay, Bex?”

“I- yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Where did-”

“Come then, after me, children!” the blonde man said in a deep voice, but it seemed like it was too late. MacDougal had vanished, and, even though they checked any and all nearby side streets, it seemed like he had just dissipated with the steam he created. 

_ Armstrong, _ Becca pondered as she glanced down one alley. Where had she heard that name? She racked her brain while she walked, then… 

“You’re Alex Louis Armstrong!” she said suddenly, turning back to the main street where the major had lingered while the Elrics had moved to the other side. That explained why she couldn’t remember him as well as she did Kimblee. Her father had mentioned Armstrong once in all his stories, just to talk about his failure to kill innocents and provide a cautionary tale to her and Will. Her father never knew, but Becca had always secretly rooted for the Strong Arm Alchemist when she had heard that story and wondered what happened to him after he was sent home.

The man turned, giving her an appraising look. “Indeed. It doesn’t appear we’ve had the pleasure of meeting, Miss…?”

“Harper- Rebecca Harper,” she said, then winced when he raised his eyebrow.

“Like Benedict Harper?” Armstrong asked.

Becca cringed, realizing the issue. She  _ had _ to stop leading with her last name if she wanted people to leave her father out of things.“Er- yes?”

“Strange…” he said quietly to himself, “He never told us he had children.” He gave her a sympathetic look, which was odd to see on a man as intimidating as he was. “I heard of his passing. You have my condolences, Rebecca.”

Becca’s gaze fell to the pavement. “Thank you, sir.”

Armstrong perked back up in an instant, though, voice booming as he declared, “But you must be a skilled combatant if he trained you, and if the Fuhrer decided to grant you your license!”

She felt her cheeks reddening. “Well, I wouldn’t say-”

“Hey, Becca! Major Armstrong!” Ed called from further down the road. He waved them over, then pointed to a ripped piece of blue fabric caught on a fire escape.

Becca looked up to the rooftops, tracing a path up the building that MacDougal could have taken, then down the alley. She couldn’t see anything to indicate which way he’d gone. Seemingly on the same page as her, Ed said, “I was thinking we could split up. Al and I can go up if you’re willing to take the street.” He turned to Armstrong. “Major, could you-?”

“I’ll report to headquarters,” the major affirmed. “They’ll know you’re on his trail.”

\---

Day turned to evening. It felt as though she had walked through most of the alleys of Central by now, but Becca hadn’t been able to find another sign of MacDougal.

_ Maybe Ed and Al had better luck, _ she thought, exiting onto the main road. She rubbed the pads of her fingers over her forehead and down the side of her face, feeling the pain from her headache building again, and sincerely wished she’d brought a flask and a few extra teabags. It was while she tried to soothe the ache that she bumped into a young, dark haired soldier. She backed off quickly, stumbling a bit until the man reached out, steadying her.

“Sorry!” she squeaked.

“Whoa, kid,” he said, chuckling. “I know we’re all on edge, but there’s no need for that.” He gave her a once over, then raised a critical eyebrow. “You know civilians aren’t supposed to be out right now, right?”

Becca looked up, wide eyed, then realized just how guilty that must seem and screwed her expression into one of forced professionalism. “I know.” She tugged out her watch from her pants pocket, flashing the silver dragon emblazoned on the cover. “I’m new- the Illusion Alchemist.”

The man whistled, leaning over to inspect the watch. “Indeed you are.” He stuck a hand out, and, when she took it, shook firmly. “Sergeant Carter, nice to meet you.”

Becca glanced at his uniform, wrinkling her nose when she noticed his insignia. It wasn’t a sergeant’s usual gold curved rectangle . Instead, a bright silver shone against the navy blue of his coat. Carter seemed to notice her staring, and revised his statement, adding on, “Well, technically I’m  _ Correctional _ Sergeant Carter, but-” He spread his hands wide, gesturing to the platoons of soldiers milling about, “-We’re kind of going all hands on deck out here.”

“You’re a correctional officer?” Becca asked. “Did you-”

“No, I didn’t see him at the prison,” Carter said with the air of someone who’d been asked that question too many times for their liking. “Otherwise, he’d be dead or in custody by now.”

She smiled slightly, trying to push past another wave of pain. “You think that highly of yourself?”

Carter tapped the emblem on his chest. “I didn’t get here by being mediocre.”

“Fair enough,” she said, then went silent. After a few moments, she asked, “Has Kimblee said anything? What they talked about?”

The officer shook his head. “It’s even more frustrating because we’d usually have a witness. Kimblee is one of our most dangerous prisoners, so there’s someone guarding his door 24/7.” This time, Carter grew quiet, his fist clenching at his sides until he snapped, “But that bastard killed the guard! Froze him solid- one of my best men!”

Becca shrunk back. “I- I’m sorry.”

Letting out a heavy breath, Carter’s shoulders sagged. “I want to look that weasel in the eye and make him pay for every life he took. And I want to ask why he had to kill so many brave men who were just doing their jobs when he clearly only has a problem with people at the top. What could be so important that he has to go about it like this?” His chin dropped further, looking exhausted. “But we’re not even supposed to question him, so I guess I’ll never know.”

“Yeah,” she said vaguely. “I’d like to ask him that too.” Her eyebrows pursed. The orders were to kill on sight, but if she could find him somewhere no one else could see them, maybe she  _ could _ ask. But where would he have gone if Ed and Al hadn’t caught up to him yet?

Realization dawned and, before the sergeant could react, Becca was off, retracing her steps back to the alley Armstrong had trapped MacDougal in to begin with. “Sorry!” she called over her shoulder. “I know where he’s gone, I have to track him down!” 

Even as she ran, her father’s voice was ringing in her already pounding head, all his criticisms about how she’d always asked for  _ why _ someone did something.  _ Why _ did the Strong Arm Alchemist leave Ishval,  _ why _ did the military discharge her father,  _ why _ didn’t he let her try to save Louisa. He’d always said that there were very few whys that actually mattered. But, Becca rationalized, he was gone. She was still here and free to ask all the whys she wanted, if she could just find the person to ask. And that thought spurred her on, adrenaline kicking in as the sun set over Central.

\---

When she finally found MacDougal, night had fallen. His back was to her as he crouched over a transmutation circle. Becca was about to step forward when someone else entered the alley. Ed had apparently had the same idea that she did, but there was only a split second of recognition before he barked, “Stop! That’s enough!”

MacDougal froze, but, on instinct, so did Becca. She was semi-hidden in the shadow, barely breathing as Ed said, “I was wondering what you were doing here, so I came back to look, and bingo!”

Al stepped out from behind a corner, taking his spot by Ed’s side, and Becca followed suit, stepping out of the shadows. “There’s nowhere to run,” she said coolly. 

However, instead of showing any signs of nervousness, MacDougal just laughed. He turned, giving Becca a creepy smile. “Obviously. But I don’t need to escape, do I?” He raised his arms and a column of bright red transmutation energy flickered to life from the circle behind him. Instantly, Becca charged, but he easily flipped her over his shoulder, sending her flying into the ground in between the Elrics just in time to see more and more beams of red lighting up the night when Al hauled her to her feet.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“There’s reactions all over the city!” Ed responded, turning in place.

“That’s impossible- the scale is too large!”  
“Unless…” Al said. “Brother, could it be? Does he have-”

“A Philosopher’s Stone!” Ed finished, an excited look gleaming in his eyes. His face quickly fell when the air changed from a scorching heat that always came from transmutations to an eerie chill. Ice crept through the cracks in the ground and Becca’s panting breaths started to mist in the air.

“The moisture in the air…” Becca whispered. “He’s freezing it.”

“You…” MacDougal said, drawing their attention back to him. “You’ve sworn your lives to act as dogs of the military, but do you even know what this military is trying to do?”

Becca faltered. This was her chance. She wanted to ask what he meant, but Ed cut her off with a brisk, “Who cares? It’s not my problem!”

“Don’t be stupid! Bradley’s going to lead this country to ruin!”

“I told you, I don’t care!”

This time, Al ran forward, taking a couple swings at MacDougal before knocking him out of the alley and making him collide with a railing with a bodily thump. As he tried to catch his breath, Al rejoined Becca and Ed.

“Good hits, Al,” Becca said.

“We still have to stop the transmutations,” Al pointed out.

“And get his stone!” Ed said, advancing on MacDougal. “Where is it? I know you have one!” When MacDougal only gave a raspy chuckle in response, Ed threatened, “I’ll force it out of you! Tell me where it is!”

“Ed-” Becca said warningly.

“And how are you gonna do that, huh? Face it, kid, you’re out of your league!” As MacDougal spoke, the large fountain behind him exploded, creating an endlessly growing wall of ice that he was able to grab onto, disappearing quickly while the ice expanded over the fountain’s barrier, towards them.

Al reacted first, getting out of the way, followed by Becca, dragging Ed behind her a few seconds later. They ran past Armstrong, who had presumably spotted the massive ice wall.

His gauntlets shone as he prepared his attack.“Witness the alchemic art passed down the Armstrong line for generations!”

“Go for it, Major!” Ed shouted.

Blue energy flickered to life along Armstrong’s gauntlets and he readied a punch towards the base of the wall, only for the hit to connect and the wall to skew off into a total right angle, hitting an apartment building nearby.

“Oh, he made it worse,” Becca said faintly.

They all cried out as the ground shook and more ice walls emerged from amongst the streets. 

“The ice- it’s converging!” Al said.

“It’s gonna meet in the middle!” Becca said.

“Which means…” Ed said slowly, connecting the dots. “Dammit, it’s Central Command!”

Becca looked fearfully towards the brothers and all three of them said in unison, “He’s gonna freeze it over!”

“We’ve got to slow him down!” Ed said desperately.

“But even if we do, the transmutation won’t stop-” Becca started.

Armstrong interrupted her firmly. “Leave the circles to me. You three, go!”

Ed led the way as they ran deeper into the city, towards the head of one of the large waves of ice where they could see MacDougal perched like a sea captain commanding his fleet of ships.

“Ed, what are we going to-” He cut her off by clapping, creating a large column of stone to boost himself up to MacDougal’s level, leaving Becca to roll her eyes. She glanced up at Al, who shrugged, and asked, “I’ll see you up there, I guess?”

“Right,” Al agreed. He crouched, pulling out a piece of chalk to sketch out a circle. Becca transmuted a column similar to Ed’s and landed next to him, closely followed by Al if the clanking from behind her was to be believed. MacDougal barely gave them a moment to breathe before he had molded the ice into a large wave, only to be countered by Ed decimating the ice he stood on, pushing him backwards into the air. He reached for one of the larger chunks of ice and Becca suddenly remembered his habit of heating up water as a means of escape. First the night before, second earlier that day, and...  _ Third time’s a charm, _ she thought, touching the ice and curving a thick shield that, while left steaming and significantly thinner than when she’d made it, kept the boiling rain MacDougal had made from burning her or Ed. On the other hand, it obstructed their view, so all three of them were caught off guard when MacDougal was already in their faces again. Once again, Al saved both Ed and Becca, grabbing them by their collars and pulling them backwards, but MacDougal was able to get a hand on Al’s mask.

“Too slow!”

Red energy sparked, blasting Al’s head off.

“No!”

“Alphonse!”

She felt her heart clench when Al toppled backwards, stiff as a board. However, MacDougal was only able to advance a few more steps before Al was up again, kicking up and tossing Becca and Ed behind him, fully exposing his blood seal as he got into a fighting position.

“No one’s in there!” MacDougal breathed. Becca inched away from him and the brothers, reaching back to retrieve Al’s wayward head as the Freezer came to some sort of realization. “Your soul must be bonded to it. You lost an arm… and he lost his entire body.” His face fell into a dark smirk as Al adjusted his head. Becca leaned away once again,  _ really _ not liking the crazed look building up behind MacDougal’s eyes.“I see. I know what you’ve done. You two committed the ultimate taboo! Human transmutation! Alchemy’s one and only unforgivable sin!”

Becca flinched. Even though she wasn’t being accused, she couldn’t help but look away guiltily, tamping down the memory of the horrifying guilt once she had realized what she’d done in that shed in her backyard.

“You know, there are some things you just shouldn’t mess with,” Ed said quietly. Becca could hear the fury bubbling in his tone and she looked up, glaring hatefully at MacDougal. Ed surged forward, landing a solid punch to MacDougal’s gut and knocking him to the ground. MacDougal tried to create a barrier, but Al easily sliced through it and Becca kicked him off the ice, sending him tumbling to the ground. Ed huffed, his breath hanging in the air, then mumbled, “Let’s go,” and slid down after him.

Becca was the last one off the wall, but even so, MacDougal hadn’t budged from where he’d landed by the time she got there.

“Just tell us what we want to know!” Ed was practically ordering. “You’re out of options, give it up!”

MacDougal chuckled, wiping a bit of blood from a wound in his shoulder. “You’re forgetting. I have all the water I need- 70% of my body!”

Becca’s eyes widened. “Ed, move!” she shouted, dodging to the side herself as several lengths of solidified blood extended from MacDougal’s fingers. She heard Ed cry out in pain as one claw scratched her cheek and another shot through the tail of her coat, pinning it to the ground. “Dammit, come on,” she said, tugging on the fabric, looking around hopelessly. She saw Al cradling a bleeding Ed, and, a few feet away, MacDougal struggled to his feet. As he started walking away, Becca remembered Sergeant Carter and the whole reason she was so determined to find MacDougal in the first place. Even though her adrenaline from the fight was wearing off and she could feel pain from the slash and from her damn headache welling up, she managed to find enough breath to call out, “Why? Why are you doing this?” Once she started asking, Becca found she couldn’t stop. “Why did you kill all those men? Why are you so determined to bring down everyone in the government when you only seem to have a problem with the people at the top? Why-”

“Why can’t you see?” MacDougal interrupted. “I’m trying to save this country! I’m trying to save us all!” He turned, examining his work as frost began to creep up the side of Central Command, and laughed. And then kept laughing.

“Hey!” Becca shouted, her coat still stuck to the ground. “Get back here! You haven’t answered my questions and you still have that stone!” She gave her hardest pull yet and nearly fell to the ground when the spike of blood gave out, freeing her, but also sending a long rip down the center of her coat. She glanced back at Ed and Al, then made a frustrated noise. Should she chase MacDougal, who had already disappeared around a corner, or check on Ed, who had yet to get up from the ground?

Ed answered for her. “Don’t let him get away!”

“We’ll be right behind you!” Al called.

Becca nodded quickly, then took off, darting down the road MacDougal had taken. She could hear explosions from the main streets, presumably soldiers attempting to stop the ice walls or trying to destroy the circles, but all her senses dulled when she finally caught up to MacDougal. He was laughing maniacally as she came around the corner and wondered vaguely if he’d  _ stopped _ laughing between the Elrics and here before halting entirely. MacDougal was face to face with Fuhrer Bradley.

She knew she was supposed to do something, to protect the Fuhrer as MacDougal gathered a long spear of his own blood and attacked, but something deeper within told her to shrink back into the shadows. Bradley had given no indication that he’d noticed her and her gut was telling her to back off. Slink back around the corner and observe. Thoughtlessly, she stepped back, only to gasp when the Fuhrer slashed his sword through MacDougal’s body almost faster than the eye could see. Bradley turned his eye on her.

“Ah, Illusion,” he said jovially. He moved slightly, obscuring Becca’s view of MacDougal’s body, but she could have sworn she saw a red light brightening and subsequently fading from behind his leg.

_ A Philosopher’s Stone just… gone? _

That wasn’t how it worked- it couldn’t be!

More running footsteps interrupted Becca’s dazed thinking, and, as the Elrics joined them, Ed still clutching his bloody shoulder and breathing heavily from the chase, she suddenly remembered that she hadn’t greeted the Fuhrer.

“Sir, I-” Becca started.

Bradley raised a hand to cut her off. “No need. I came out to help anyway.” He tilted his head, smiling. “Never would have thought that I’d be the one to catch him! But thank you to you three for tracking him down so quickly.” The Fuhrer began walking away, throwing a casual, “If nothing else, it will make an interesting story for my son.”

Ed put a hand on Becca’s shoulder, but she found it too difficult to turn and face him. Her last bit of adrenaline had gotten her to the confrontation, but seeing  _ that _ type of effortless, remorseless attack from the man who held her own life in his hands was enough to cut that off completely. Her headache swelled and her stomach lurched and the world started to spin. As if through an echo chamber, she could hear someone calling her name before she hit the ground. She wanted to respond, but her limbs were too heavy, even as her eyelids fluttered shut.

\---

When she came to, Becca was blinking up at a tiled ceiling. Everything was too bright and smelled of antiseptic. She groaned.

“Good morning, Miss Harper,” a woman’s cool voice greeted. Becca sat up, rubbing her eyes, taking in her surroundings. A stern looking nurse closed the door as she spoke. “My name is Sophie Fox and I’ll be checking over you before you get dismissed.”

“Hi,” Becca said quietly, sitting up.

“Headache gone?”

“Yeah,” she said instinctively, then stopped. “How did you-?”

“Alphonse Elric felt the need to mention it,” Sophie explained. “He and his brother were extremely distressed. Edward insisted we discern what was wrong with you before we even thought about looking at his shoulder.”

Becca winced. “You didn’t though, right? They’re okay?”

Sophie sighed heavily. “Mr. Elric is resting next door. You may go see him once I am done with you.” She bustled about, informing Becca, “You slept through the night, but we were unable to rouse you until you woke up on your own. We did, however, weigh you, and proved that those idiots in the physical exam don’t know a lick about actual healthcare.”

She gulped, feeling a pit growing in her stomach. “What do you mean?”

Sophie leveled a severe look at her from where she was reading over a chart on the other side of the room. “You’re underweight, and I suspect you have been for a while.”

“I feel fine!” Becca argued weakly.

“Now, there is no need to panic,” Sophie said, thoroughly ignoring her protests. “We assumed it was out of necessity and not choice.” Her glasses glinted under the harsh hospital lights, daring Becca to come clean and risk getting discharged from the military, and she continued, “It’s not serious enough to warrant keeping you here for too long, but I will put a note in your chart that they need to check on you during your annual assessment. While you are not severely malnourished  _ yet _ , you are at a risk. You must self monitor if you don’t want your condition to worsen and your general health to decline, understood?”

Becca’s shoulders slumped in relief. They wouldn’t send her away. “Yes, ma’am,” she said, then, significantly quieter, “May I go see Ed and Al?”

“You may join them for breakfast,” Sophie allowed. “First, I need to get your vitals. Sit still please.”

\---

“Becca!”

“Bex!”

Becca smiled slightly, carrying a tray with a few different food items, then took in the room. Ed was sitting up in bed, a bandage wrapped around his wounded shoulder and a similar collection of food in his lap, with Al up against the wall. She crossed the threshold and sat down on the short stool next to Ed’s bed. He was quick to scoot over and give her space to set her food down.

“How are you guys feeling?” she asked, uber conscious of both of them sneaking glances at her.

They both stopped trying to be subtle and just outright stared at her. Ed sputtered. “How are  _ we _ feeling? You’re the one who passed out! What happened?”

Throughout her check up and subsequent walk to Ed’s room with Sophie, Becca had considered how much she was going to tell the brothers. But Sophie was still in the doorway, raising an expectant eyebrow and making it abundantly clear that if Becca didn’t tell them everything about her condition, she would. And deep down, Becca considered, Al had been right that morning. They needed to know in case something happened. Hell, something had happened and she was lucky that they were already near a hospital.

Mind made up, she launched into everything. First, how she’d had to ration everything since Louisa’s death and eventually just stopped wanting to eat full meals after the transmutation incident. How, for months, she’d been forcing herself to eat just enough to keep her habits a secret, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been genuinely full. Then, while they were still quiet from that, she continued into talking about her headaches, including that they’d become less common since her memories had come back, but apparently more painful, and that she hadn’t been able to find an actual drug that really helped. She insisted that they didn’t need to worry, that she’d push through it again and again (not like she had a choice), but still, after those particular revelations, she lowered her head while Ed and Al sat in silence.

“I’m sorry,” she said quietly after a few moments.

“Becca, you don’t need to-” Al said.

She held up a hand to stop him. “No, I- I haven’t been completely honest with you, and I should have. It could have been dangerous.” She bit her lip, then revised, “It was dangerous. I should have told you earlier.” She felt her lip quivering slightly, but refused to cry. The Elrics had already seen her cry enough.

Ed’s flesh hand came to rest on her shoulder. She looked up, raising a brow. There must have been something giving her away on her face, because his eyes widened and he frantically reassured, “Hey, don’t worry about it! You got through the mission and there’s no long term damage, and now we know so it won’t happen again! So it’s alright, okay?”

She blinked, then felt a smile spread involuntarily over her face. “Okay, okay,” she said, the tension in the air finally broken. She grabbed a fork, stabbing a bit of egg to eat before she asked, “Seriously, what happened? Are you both okay?”

“Fine,” Ed said flippantly. “This is pretty much just procedure.”  
“Brother, you did get stabbed,” Al pointed out.

Ed waved a dismissive hand. “I’m  _ fine _ ,” he said again. “The doctor’s said I can leave soon. What I’m worried about is where we’re going to go next. The colonel didn’t mention having any more leads, but I don’t really want to stick around here.”

As the brothers discussed, Becca chewed on her toast thoughtfully, only half listening to the conversation until they mentioned the Philosopher’s Stone.

“We never did find out if he had one,” Al was saying.

Becca opened her mouth, then tried to speak too fast and choked. Next to her, Ed swore loudly and thumped her on the back, but she was able to recover quickly enough with a drink of water. She coughed a few times, then rasped out, “I thought I saw one. A Philosopher’s Stone.”  
“With MacDougal?” Ed asked eagerly.

“Yeah, but- but-” Becca scrunched her face up, trying to remember, “It couldn’t have been one. It broke or something, because there was this bright red light that just faded out. And Philosopher’s Stones- true ones- they can’t break, can they?”

“No… they’re supposed to be the perfect material,” Ed said thoughtfully. “I guess we’ll just have to wait for the military’s report to see if they found anything-”

Ed was cut off by loud footsteps stomping down the hall, giving them only a few seconds of warning before Major Armstrong burst through the door, preceded by a large bouquet of roses and oddly… sparkling? She looked over to Ed, but he seemed just as confused as she was.

“Edward Elric, Rebecca Harper, when I heard you two were in the hospital…” he started out calmly, then suddenly returned to his apparently normal volume of what would be a booming shout for the average person, “I dashed right over!” Ed and Al were both quaking in fear, though of what, Becca couldn’t determine. The major, as far as she’d seen, was eccentric, but it wasn’t like he was going to hurt them. He even seemed rather well-meaning on this particular visit, gently setting the roses aside on a nearby table. “I’ve come to relieve you of your boredom,” he said sternly, then ripped off his shirt, revealing his overly muscular physique. Becca went red, her eyes going wide at his blatant half-nudity, then quickly averted her eyes, embarrassed, while the Elrics both shrieked. “The beauty of my muscles makes you all look livelier already!” Armstrong crowed with a laugh.

“Would you get out?” Ed demanded loudly, only to prompt another round of raucous laughter from the major.

\---

The major left soon after dropping off the flowers, citing an absurd amount of paperwork concerning the Freezer case. Becca doubted that the pink blush had fully left her face, so she kept her head down and focused on her food, but she was finding it harder and harder to finish what she was given. She looked pleadingly up at Sophie, who checked what she had managed to eat and nodded, satisfied. She brought in discharge papers for all three of them, making sure to go over instructions left by doctors as they signed out.

“I want you to increase what you’re eating slowly,” Sophie lectured. “Too much at once and you’ll make yourself sick and you’ll be no better than when you started. Now that you have a steady income, I expect you to have steady meals as well.”

“I will,” Becca said tiredly.

“And we’ll help,” Al said.

“Al, guys don’t have to worry about me-”

“Bex, like it or not, now that you told us, we’re going to worry,” Ed said, not looking at her. “You already said you’d help us. Really, helping you to stay healthy is way easier than tracking down a Philosopher’s Stone.”

Al nodded from his spot on the wall. Becca looked between both of them, then sighed. “I guess there’s no telling you no.”

“And Miss Harper is not the only one who needs to take care of herself,” Sophie continued, turning her gaze onto Ed. “Those stitches need to be taken care of, Mr. Elric, or I’ll be seeing you again when they get infected. I’m aware you get into situations requiring you to get your hands dirty, but afterwards, make sure to clean and sanitize the wound.”

“I’ll remind him,” Al assured.

Becca smiled. “I will too.”

“Oh, great,” Ed groaned. “ _ Two _ people breathing down my neck about this shit.”

She scoffed, “Please! You were the one preaching equivalent exchange a few days ago and don’t tell me you already forgot.”

Ed sputtered himself into a fuming silence, signing the last few papers and standing up to stretch. “Fine, whatever! Insist on whatever you like!” He turned to Sophie. “Thanks for all the help, but can I get my clothes back? There’s only so much hospital food I can take.”

Sophie rolled her eyes. “I’ll send someone with them,” she said, then shot each of them a small smile. “Take care, all of you. I don’t want to see you back anytime soon.”

“Thank you, Sophie,” Becca called out before the door shut. 

Ed moved over to the wall and kicked his automail leg up. She heard the joints squeak as he glanced over and explained, “It gets stiff when I’m sitting for so long.” She nodded, quietly taking in the metal limb in full. It really was a work of art- deceptively simple looking when everyone knew engineering the stuff was no small undertaking. She wondered if she’d ever get to meet the person who’d made Ed’s automail, or if that was too personal to him to invite his work partner along for maintenance. She allowed herself to look up, taking in the concentrated expression on Ed’s face as he stretched. His brows were furrowed slightly, nose scrunched, and head tilted back. His eyes flicked over to meet hers.

“Bex?”

“Hm?”

Ed grinned cheekily at her. “You were staring at me.”

Suddenly, her blush was back full force and she was sent stuttering. “I- you- I was  _ not _ !”

“Were too!”

“Was not!”

Thankfully, it wasn’t long before another hospital staff member returned both of their clothes and they were officially released. Becca frowned upon seeing the long slash in her coattail, then touched her hands together and cut off the entire bottom portion. The remaining coat fell to the bottom of her ribs with two black buttons, but the long sleeves and formal collar stayed untouched.

“So no one can trap me with that again,” she explained in response to Ed’s questioning look, packing the rest of the material into her bag, just in case. “MacDougal ripped it, but in East City… you know.”

Ed nodded sympathetically. Becca grabbed the necklace with her father’s symbol on it from her bag, fastening it over the new scar on her neck, then picked up her things and threw them over his shoulder.

Their first stop was the Hughes’ house to pick up their luggage, but they ended up getting pulled in for lunch. After they’d eaten, Elicia sat under the table, playing with a few dolls while Gracia informed them that Hughes had been worried about them, but hadn’t had time to visit the hospital like Armstrong had since he was higher up in the chain of command.

“We should stop by and tell Lieutenant Colonel Hughes goodbye,” Al said as they left. “Maybe we can catch the colonel before he goes back to East City and he’ll have something for us.”

Ed made a face at the mention of Mustang, but didn’t object. Becca had yet to fully understand his relationship with their superior. Mustang was the one who brought Ed in to become a State Alchemist, but both of them seemed to argue over everything. Either way, there was little space for arguing when Hughes had spotted the three of them while he was with Mustang and immediately dragged them into the conversation he was having about his daughter with the colonel.

“And she was so cute this morning when she was asking about you three,” Hughes gushed. Becca caught Mustang’s eye, who looked as bored as she felt, silently begging him to cut Hughes off before he started trying to mimic Elicia.

It seemed he got the message since, the second Hughes took a breath, he was interrupting with an order. “Fullmetal, Illusion, while you’re here, there’s a situation I wanted you to take a look at over in Youswell.” He gave Edward a meaningful look and added, “I’ve been looking into leads for you and one looks promising-” Ed opened his mouth, but Mustang cut him off. “-After you return.” Ed’s mouth snapped closed, but he glared heavily at the colonel even as Mustang gave him a snarky smile.

“Are there even any trains going out to Youswell?” Becca asked.

“I’ve got to get back to East City HQ, so I suppose that’s your problem,” Mustang said cheerfully, turning around and waving to them over his shoulder. “Hughes, you’re buying me a drink before I leave!”

Ed groaned. Hughes chuckled and patted him on the shoulder when Mustang had disappeared around a corner. “Oh, don’t let him get to you. Did you guys need something, or did you just come to talk to Roy?”

“No, actually, we came to thank you,” Becca said, “for letting us stay the night with you.”

Hughes’ eyes widened slightly, then he chuckled. “Anytime,” he said, still chortling. “Hey, if you kids need somewhere to stay next time you’re around, I’m sure Elicia would love to have you back- speaking of Elicia, did I show you-”

“Sorry, sir,” Ed interrupted before Hughes could pull out his photos, grabbing Becca’s hand. “We’ve got to figure out how to get to Youswell, but we’ll make sure to find you whenever we’re back in town.”

“Bye, Lieutenant Colonel!” Al called.

“Thanks again,” said Becca.

\---

As it turned out, there weren’t any trains straight to Youswell, so all three of them were bent over a map and train schedule, mapping out which tickets they’d need to purchase. Ed was sent to get the first set of tickets and Al offered to watch their small pile of luggage (which was really only two suitcases), leaving Becca to wander aimlessly in search of food. Even though she was supposed to be looking for food, every small market stall seemed to have something she wanted to look at. One shop in particular, a fabric store, was displaying a large swatch of blue fabric identical to the fabric her shirt was made of.

Before she could convince herself otherwise, she had purchased a large piece of the cloth.

“May I use your restroom?” she asked. The shopkeeper wordlessly pointed her to the back, where she tossed her jacket off, pulled off her shirt, and stared down at it, considering what she wanted to do. “Maybe…” she contemplated, transmuting a few more inches onto her ends of the sleeves and forming a set of attached fingerless gloves to wrap around her thumbs. Still, there was a significant amount of blue fabric left over, and Becca turned to her newly cropped jacket. She remembered black flamel emblazoned on Ed’s jacket and got an idea. Her necklace already paid tribute to her father, but… maybe something for Louisa. A garden, she thought decidedly, about to transmute the rest of the fabric, then stopped.

Louisa had been all about putting in the work. Alchemy in her garden never flew, no matter how much it would have made things easier.

_ “Everything comes in it’s own time,” _ she had said.  _ “If you use alchemy to make my lilies come up in the winter just because they’d look pretty, the frost would take them quicker than if they’d been allowed to bloom naturally in summer.” _

Becca smiled sadly, looking down at the blue fabric. She touched her hands together and exhaled as she deconstructed the cloth down into a pile of thread. Surely, the shop had an empty spool and a needle lying around...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you and your loved ones are all staying healthy and safe, and i'll see y'all in the next update! -c


	6. anecdoche

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, hello, hello, my dears!
> 
> i've been back home, so, while this chapter is actually a little shorter than i wanted, i'm pretty proud of it and i've been going through it with a fine toothed comb to make sure i was totally happy with it. i wanted to put this up before i went to work and i'm literally running down to the last minute to get it up, but here it is!
> 
> AND we're finally in the present time! for context, my timeline so far has been that Becca received her license/ the MacDougal incident happened in december of 1912, and we pick up here in august of 1914.
> 
> as always, if you like the chapter, kudos and comments give me life, and hell, if you don't like it, might as well leave a constructive comment.
> 
> anecdoche (noun)- a conversation wherein everyone is talking but nobody is listening

The tiny knot slipped through her fingers again. It was always hard enough to tie when it was light outside, but doing it by just the pale light of the moon and the swaying lights on the train was even worse.

“Dammit,” Becca swore under her breath. She hated finishing off embroideries on moving trains, but Ed had already insisted that they go straight into Liore. Their latest lead from Mustang was so vague that it might not even be worth staying the night. Just some priest in some backwater town insisting he could perform miracles. In her mind, it was more likely that he was particularly good at sleight of hand, but it wasn’t like they had anything better at the moment.

She glared down at her jacket, specifically at the daffodil petal she’d just finished stitching.

“Everything alright, Becca?” Al said, not looking up from his ongoing journal entry.

She glanced back down and tried to tie it off once more. “Everything’s fine, I just can’t get this- ah, there we go!” she said. She took a small set of scissors out of her bag and cut the string near the newly tied knot. “There.”

There was a small creak as Al leaned forward to look at the jacket. “Can I guess what it is?” She smiled. That had become a little game between them. Since Becca did most of her work either during downtime while travelling or nighttime when she couldn’t sleep, Ed was usually fast asleep like he was now, pressed against the window, leaving them to come up with ways to entertain themselves. It had gotten easier as time went on and Al learned more and more each time, and yet, Becca kept stitching and Al kept guessing whenever they had the chance.

“Go for it.”

She pointed to the daffodil, recognizable to a trained eye, but still unfinished and easy to be mistaken by those who weren’t as sure of themselves.. Al considered it for a moment, then said, “It’s going to be another daffodil, right?”

“Exactly!” Becca said, grinning. “You’re really getting good at that.”

Al moved to look her in the eye. To others, the red lights gleaming out of his helmet would be something to fear, but over the year and a half since they’d met, Becca had only ever associated them with comfort. She didn’t know if it was just because it was Al, but the lights were always warm, like a crackling hearth.

“That book you gave me was helpful,” he admitted.

“I didn’t know you’d read it already,” she said. “In that case, for bonus points, do you remember the meaning?”

Al went silent, then huffed. “I haven’t gotten  _ that _ far.”

Becca laughed, startling Ed into blinking awake. “Are we there yet?” he mumbled, rubbing one eye. Becca felt herself smile involuntarily.

“No, sorry,” she said quietly. “Al and I were just talking. Go back to sleep.”

Ed made an affirming noise and fell back against the window, light snores following only minutes later. She gazed over at his still form. She knew there was probably too much fondness in her eyes for someone who was supposed to be a work partner, but she couldn’t help it. Travelling with Ed, with his firm morals and strong personality, had only intrigued her, drawn her in more and more with each passing day until they were less like casual friends and more like… something else. Something closer.

As she was contemplating, Al seemed to be scrutinizing something as well. Before he could speak, Becca said, “I guess I should try and sleep too.” She tilted her head, checking with Al like she’d gotten a habit of doing whenever they had these late night rendezvous. “You’ll be okay by yourself?”

“Don’t worry about me,” Al said, like always.

Becca smiled, tucking her feet up onto the bench she and Ed shared. She leaned over onto her suitcase. Ed shifted beside her, his legs unconsciously stretching out slightly over hers, and Al reached for his journal again. She closed her eyes and sighed as the quiet atmosphere of the train engulfed all three of them once again.

\---

Apparently, in Ed’s mind, “straight into Liore” meant “stopping for lunch at the first tiny restaurant they saw”. 

And so far, the only thing worth noting about Liore was that it was hot, much too hot.

_ I suppose being on the edge of the desert will do that, _ Becca thought disgruntledly, pushing the few loose strands of hair falling out of her bun back, off of her forehead where they’d become plastered with sweat.  _ Ed’s the lucky one here, damn blonde hair. _

Luckily, in such a tiny town, she could pick up on the general atmosphere just by observing the central square while sipping on an ice water. In Central, or even East City, she’d learned that places were often like people. They had their own personalities, their own secrets. Liore seemed to be more like Adethal: sure, it had its secrets, but they weren’t very well hidden. A stranger could walk into Adethal, past the cold, bright stone building of the military academy, so out of place among the tiny houses and little shops, and  _ know _ , just like how Becca could walk into Liore, hear the deep voice blaring over radios fixed above the streets, and  _ know _ . Something was odd about this place.

“So are you three street performers or something?”

Becca glanced over her shoulder, incredulous, while Ed spat out his drink.

“Seriously? Do we look like street performers to you?” he demanded irritably.

The man shrugged. “I can’t think of anything else you could be.”

“Ugh,” Ed groaned, pushing his plate away and himself off his stool. “Thanks for lunch. Come on, Al, Bex.”

Becca slid easily out of her seat, but turned back around quickly when she heard a loud crash. When Al had tried to get up, he’d bumped his helmet up against the unsteady top of the cafe and knocked the radio down from its perch overlooking the square. Becca winced at the pile of springs and splintered wood.

“Hey, I didn’t mean anything by it!” the shopkeeper exclaimed, leaning over the counter.

“Sorry, sorry,” Ed said quickly. “He can fix it, don’t worry.”

“Fix it? It’s all smashed!” the man said indignantly. His voice drew a crowd of other patrons, as well as random bystanders, all gathering around the broken speaker, whispering to each other.

“Check this out.” Becca rifled through her suitcase for chalk- Al didn’t exactly have pockets after all- and tossed it to Al, who caught it deftly and bent down, drawing a basic transmutation circle with ease. A bright blue light flared up as Al activated the array, then faded to reveal the radio, reconstructed and in perfect working order. Becca grinned at Al, knocking on his metal shoulder. “You even got it to keep playing, well done.”

Ed smiled proudly. “There, see? How’s that?”

“It’s a miracle!” someone called.

The shopkeeper looked astonished. “You’ve been touched by the sun god Leto, like Father Cornello!”

Becca let out a disappointed breath and Ed’s face fell as he started, “Father Cor-”, then asked, “Who now?”

“It’s not a miracle,” Al explained, far more patient than his brother would have been. “It’s alchemy!”

The crowd started to murmur again. “I’ve never seen alchemy before,” one man said skeptically.

“Well, maybe you’ve heard of us,” Ed said, overconfident and brash as ever, sweeping an arm around Becca’s shoulder and pulling her to his side. “We’re the Elric brothers, and this is Rebecca Harper!”

Becca went pink as the people of Liore muttered amongst themselves again. Someone finally called out, “It’s the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric!”

“Oh, yeah, and he has a partner, right?” another person said. “The Illusion Alchemist!”

The people jostled forward, pulling Becca out of Ed’s grasp as they gathered around her and Al. Becca suppressed a smile while she shoved her way out and people were occupied gushing over an increasingly frantic Al, waving his arms for help high above the crowd. Ed, who had previously looked rather smug, seemed to be on the verge of snapping at the Liorans until Becca squeezed his shoulder.

“Relax,” she urged. “People always think that, you can’t exactly blame them. It’s because of the armor, not because you’re-”

“It’s not me!” Al said loudly behind them.

The group turned slowly, looking over at Ed. Becca could see some curious faces, some confused, but she could only hope that none of them would- “It’s the little guy over there?”  _ Oh, God, here we go. _

Any calm Ed had restored was immediately gone. “Who’s little?” he shouted. “Come over here and say that to my face, I’ll kick your teeth in!” He raged around, all vague threats and angry red cheeks, until he’d evidently decided the poor citizens had enough and finally quieted down, though he was still fuming when Becca started listening in to the continuing radio broadcast. She wrinkled her nose. The speaker, the same deep voice that had been droning on and on since they’d arrived, was talking about, of all things,  _ prayer _ .

“Who’s this guy?” she said. She’d been talking to herself mostly, leaning forward as if the radio itself could answer her question, but townspeople answered anyway.

“That’s our leader, Father Cornello.”

“He came here years ago, and taught us the ways of Leto, the sun god!”

“We were lost before he arrived.”

“He can grant eternal life to his faithful ones and resurrect the dead!”

It was… eerie, watching them explain. They were clearly still shaken from Ed’s outburst, but as they spoke, they all grew more confident. There was no doubt, no questioning as they spoke. Hell, Becca realized, it wasn’t even awe that tinted their voices. This- this was pure faith. Faith in something that definitely shouldn’t be possible. Raising the dead? The three of them knew better than anyone that was impossible. Nothing was worth that much.

“He performs miracles as proof,” one man informed them.

Becca’s head snapped up and she looked over to Ed. Although he wasn’t looking at her, she knew he’d heard the same thing.  _ Proof. _ Proof, they could work with. She noted the change in his demeanor. He’d stopped pouting, recognizing the actual legitimacy of this lead, and shifted into a more solemn version of himself. Even Al had visibly adjusted, from trying to be as unintimidating as he could as a suit of armor to a stately sentry slightly behind Ed.

“So he’s claiming he can bring the dead back to life?” Ed muttered so she and Al could hear. “Now that’s something I gotta see.”

\---

Flowers- pink begonias, Becca noticed- drifted over a cheering mob. A balding man stood at the forefront on a raised stage with a line of guards behind him, and Becca was unable to stop herself from connecting the man draped in black to the Fuhrer, lording command over the hoards of the Amestrian military. She shivered.

The man, Father Cornello, caught one of the falling flowers. He cupped his hands around it, and a burst of red light shone out from his closed palms. When he opened his hands, there was a shiny, bejeweled flower, which one of Cornello’s white robed attendants fixed onto the statue looming behind him. The crowd went wild, but Ed, who had climbed on top of his and Becca’s stacked suitcases to get a better look, still kept his voice low.

“So, what do you think?”

“There’s nothing to think,” Al insisted. “That’s alchemy, it has to be.”

“But there’s no exchange,” Becca pointed out. “No equivalency. You’re not supposed to be able to transmute organic matter like flowers into inorganic matter, and that’s not even mentioning the changes in mass and volume.” She glanced up, meeting Ed’s eyes. “There’s really only one way.”

Ed huffed thoughtfully, then narrowed his eyes in Cornello’s direction. “And I think I see it. He’s got a stone on his ring, see?”

Becca had to go up on her toes to barely spot the tiny gold band on the priest’s finger. Once she did, however, it seemed extraordinarily clear. She nodded slowly and heard a creak from Ed’s other side. Al had done the same. They had to get closer. Ed hopped off his pedestal and picked up his suitcase, Becca following suit, prepared to elbow their way to the front until the priest dropped his hands and turned, reentering the church. The crowd was quick to disperse, each person going back to their own duties after the afternoon break. Ed swore.

“Let’s go,” he said decisively. “I’m sure we can get an audience with the old man.”

By the time they got to the front, the doors had closed. Ed gave them a tug, then pushed against them with his right shoulder, but they didn’t budge and he groaned.

“Well, we can’t exactly transmute the doors.” Becca glanced around. “That’ll give us away. There has to be another way in.”

“There!” Al said, pointing at a small side door. 

Ed charged at the door and stumbled through when it gave very little resistance. Becca stifled a laugh as she followed, making sure Al was able to duck in behind them. Her laugh died, however, when they went almost directly into a chapel. Even though Ed was on the warpath, Becca slowed down, unable to draw her eyes away from the sprawling ceilings. She tried to take everything in, but there were too many details. Everywhere she looked, there was another sun image, another statue, or another tapestry glorifying a bearded, crowned man. She scrunched her nose up in distaste.

_ I’m not exactly a beacon of religious etiquette, but this seems like overkill. _

“So, this is Leto, huh?” Ed said loudly, pulling Becca’s attention back to him. She followed his gaze to a young woman at the base of the largest statue, with dark, two-toned hair and a white dress, giving her an air similar to the priest’s white robed guards.

The woman stood and turned to them, flashing a smile. “Yes, it is! Are you three interested in Letoism?”

Ed glanced over his shoulder at Becca, then back at the woman. He shrugged. “No, can’t say we are, unfortunately. None of us are too into the religion thing.”

“That  _ is _ unfortunate,” the woman said, adopting a serene tone. “To deny God is to deny… hope. Leto is amazing. I’m sure if you prayed to him,” she continued, speaking specifically to Ed, “he’d make you grow taller.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ed ground out.

“Brother, calm down, she didn’t mean anything by it,” Al said quietly.

Becca shifted her weight back, eager to distract Ed and get more information out of this woman. “Ma’am, we did actually have some questions,” she said. “This whole… resurrection thing. Bringing the dead back to life. Do you actually believe that?”

“Yes,” the woman said. Becca’s eyes widened. She was creepily fast with that answer, like there was nothing else to think, no other opinion one could possibly have. The blind trust was just… astounding. Or, she considered, maybe it wasn’t exactly blind. Maybe what Cornello preached  _ was _ possible with a Philosopher’s Stone. But then why waste his time and power on silly little things like flowers? It didn’t make sense.

Ed sighed heavily, collapsing onto one of the pews. He pulled out his travel log, flipping to one of the first pages and reading off a list Becca had memorized: “Water, 35 liters. Carbon, 20 kilograms. Ammonia, 4 liters. Lime, 1.5 kilograms. Phosphorus, 800 grams. Salt, 250 grams. Saltpeter, 100 grams. And trace amounts of other elements. That’s the complete chemical makeup of the average adult.” He shut his journal loudly and Becca squeezed her eyes shut. “We’ve calculated it down to the last little micrograms. But we’re still missing something. There’s never been a successful human transmutation- an actual creation of a human. You honestly think that something modern scientists haven’t been able to crack, you’ll accomplish just through prayer?” he asked derisively.

“The Father tells us, ‘Lift thy voice to God, and those faithful will be rewarded’!” the woman quoted.

“And all those ingredients,” Ed said, raising his voice slightly, “could be purchased at any old market. A kid could buy it all with the change in his pocket.” He leaned back, hands behind his head, the picture of nonchalant arrogance for anyone who couldn’t pick up on his subtle indicators of stress, or those who didn’t know his trademark brand of annoyance into submission. “Turns out, humans are pretty cheap.”

Becca studied the woman. Clearly incensed, she snapped, “That’s blasphemous! We are all made by the Creator, each and every one of us is made in his image-”

“Alchemists are scientists, you see,” Ed interrupted. “We don’t believe in things we can’t prove- gods, creators, you know. We study the world and try to find the truths in it, isn’t that right, guys?”

“That’s one way to put it,” Becca said, giving Ed a sideways glance. Where was he going with this?

Ed nodded, raising a conspiratorial eyebrow in her direction. “Ironically, though it’s scientists who don’t believe in God, we’re arguably the ones who are closest to gods ourselves.”

“Do you think you’re on the same level as God? That- that’s just arrogant!”

“Arrogance?” Ed questioned, horribly composed. “You know, there was a story about that in the old myths… the boy who flew on wings of wax. He flew too close to the sun; his wings melted and he fell into the ocean and drowned.”

“Brother,” Al said warningly.

Becca’s eyes met Ed’s again. They’d gotten good at this- being able to speak in looks rather than words, and she could tell he was on the same train of thought as her. Cornello was clearly a master manipulator given the most powerful tool he could ask for, but why? And from whom?

Becca shook her head, hoping Ed would get the point.  _ We’re stuck with too many damn questions. We need to talk to him, not any of his followers. Let me try. _ “Miss,” she said politely. She widened her eyes slightly, blinking up at the woman. “Do you think that Father Cornello would see us? Would he be able to save a couple of wayward scientists?”

The woman immediately brightened and clapped her hands together excitedly. “Of course he would! If anyone could help you, it would be the Father!”

Becca smiled demurely in response, grabbing Ed by the arm and pulling him up as the woman chattered away about the many miracles Cornello had performed. Becca walked alongside her to nod when appropriate while the brothers trailed behind. Ed managed to get close enough to murmur, “Keep her talking. We’ll observe while we walk.” 

She gave another imperceptible nod of acknowledgement, then carefully interjected, “So how did you come to see the light, Miss…?”

“Oh!” she exclaimed. “I’m so sorry, how rude of me. My name is Rose. I began following Letoism after… after my boyfriend was involved in a horrible accident…”

As they walked, Rose continued to tell them her story. Becca felt her heart clench for the woman. Not only because she was being taken advantage of, but because it happened at her worst. Her own father had promised virtually the same thing to her: the return of her dearest companion to life.

On the other hand, however sad Rose’s story was, the quickly darkening hallways proved to be a bit more unsettling. The soaring, light marble supports of the chapel and tall windows were gone, replaced by some sort of dark stones lit by torchlight. A guard stopped them, startling Rose out of her reverie.

“Rose, who have you brought into our sanctuary?” the guard asked coldly. “You know the Father doesn’t take kindly to unexpected visitors.”  
Rose flinched like a child who’d been reprimanded. 

Becca frowned, a stony expression falling over her face. “We asked her to bring us here to try and learn more about Letoism,” she said, the half-truth slipping easily off of her tongue, “and you are not endearing your Leto very much right now, sir. If you are a beacon of your faith, I’m sure we can see ourselves out.” Ed started behind her, but she held up a hand to still him behind her back. Even if they didn’t know who her and Ed really were, if this Letoism  _ was _ a sham, they couldn’t have anyone poking their nose around, which meant no one could be overly unhappy with them. They couldn’t afford to leave a bad impression and anyone who worked here, in the epicenter of the church, had to know that. Now the guard just needed to buy her performance-

“Now, wait a just minute,” he said in a hurried voice. “I’m sure we can arrange something, I’ll just need your names for the Father’s records.”

“The Elric brothers and Miss Harper,” Becca said coolly. Vague enough to draw Cornello in without giving away the ace in their sleeves- the might of the military behind them.

The guard nodded, scurrying off into some inner office. “Please wait here for a moment.” 

Ed squeezed her shoulder. She sighed, leaning her head onto his hand. “I thought he was gonna tell us to scram for a second there.”

He barked a laugh. “You getting us kicked out of somewhere? Never.”

“I wonder where he’s going,” Al said.

“Probably to pass the message onto one of the brothers,” Rose suggested. “They’re the only ones allowed into the Father’s inner chambers. It might be a little while,” she said apologetically.

Ed made a face, exchanging an annoyed look with Becca. She shrugged, leaning up against the nearby stone wall and getting comfortable. This could turn into a waiting game, and it wasn’t like they had anywhere else to be. Ed groaned and slid down the wall to sit nearby, then closed his eyes.

“Did you sleep enough on the train?” Becca asked. “It seemed like you were out cold whenever I was awake.”

Ed shrugged. “I think I just woke up whenever you weren’t. I don’t know why. I couldn’t stay asleep.”

Becca nodded thoughtfully, then scooted down to sit beside him. When he looked up at her, she gestured to her shoulder and said, “Well, knowing you, this is going to end in a fight, so you might as well be a little bit well rested.”

Al erupted in giggles nearby for some reason as Ed went pink, but nevertheless, he laid his head down, closing his eyes. Becca gently set her own head on top of his.

“You don’t mind if I take a few minutes as well, do you, Al?”

Al waved her off. “I’ll wake you up.”

\---

It took nearly half an hour, but apparently, their refusal to leave had worn the priest down. A different man, dressed in black this time, eventually showed up to guide them to Cornello.

“I’m sure you realize that the Father is very busy,” the man was informing them as he pushed a large door open. “He’d like to get this taken care of as quickly as possible.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Ed said cheerfully. “We wouldn’t want to take too much of his time.”

Becca noticed the guards shutting the door behind them and tensed up as their escort stopped. “Wonderful.” He reached into his black jacket and Becca tried to warn the boys until she heard a click and froze. Her gaze flew up to where the man pointed a handgun at Al. She lunged forward, only to be stopped by a guard pointing his spear at her chest, then raised her hands, showing that she was unarmed. A quick glance to her right saw Ed held hostage by two guards with their weapons crossed across him.

The only one left alone was Rose. “Brother Cray, what are you doing?” she asked incredulously. “These people have come for help, and this is how you treat them?”

“These are heathens, Rose,” the man said easily. “They’ve come to discredit Father Cornello. This is what Leto commands.”

“Brother Cray, that can’t be true-”

“Like you said,” Ed huffed. “Let’s make this quick!” He lurched sideways, elbowing the guard on one side and flipping the other over his shoulder. Becca grabbed the weapon pointed at her by its long, wooden pole, and twisted it away from the guard holding it, and Al simply punched the man with the gun, which fell to the floor and slid somewhere behind them. She heard Rose’s strangled gasp at the sudden violence, but she couldn’t turn around to check on her before the deep voice from the radio was ringing through the sanctuary.

“What’s this racket?” The old man stepped out of the shadows onto a landing overlooking the main area. Becca got the impression he’d been standing there the whole time, testing them, or… studying them. Using his own followers as expendable tools to evaluate how hard he’d have to try against them. Cornello spread his hands in a welcoming gesture. “Ah, I see. The Fullmetal Alchemist, and the Illusion Alchemist. Welcome to the sacred hall of Leto.”

Well, there went that advantage.  _ Dammit, Ed, how many times have I told you to stop introducing us with our full titles. _

“Father Cornello!” Rose exclaimed delightedly.

He ignored her. “I must apologize for my disciples, they appear to be misguided.”

“I thought your whole thing was that you were the one guiding them,” Becca said doubtfully.

Cornello ignored her as well. “Have you three come to learn the ways of Letoism?”  
“There are a few things I wanna ask about,” Ed called, looking up at the priest. “Like how you’ve been able to use alchemy to deceive all your followers.”

“Not even good alchemy,” Al added.

The father chuckled. “Children, you’re mistaken. My miracles are from the sun god, Leto.” He pressed his hands together, a red light shining briefly through his hands, and a tiny statue mimicking the one in the chapel formed. “There, see? Alchemy can’t create something from nothing.”

“Not alone, it couldn’t,” Becca said frankly. “That’s what we didn’t understand when we watched you earlier, with the flowers- how did you bypass the Law of Equivalent Exchange?”

“Because it isn’t alchemy, foolish girl!” he snapped.

Becca glared up at him. “But alchemy can be amplified, even a second rate alchemist knows that,” she resumed.

“If you managed to get a certain object, everything you’ve done and more suddenly becomes possible,” Ed said, pushing his bangs back with one gloved hand while the other rested on his hip. “And that explained everything.”

“What do you mean?” Cornello demanded.

“I mean, the Philosopher’s Stone, that one there on your ring,” Ed said dangerously, stepping forward. “That  _ is _ it, isn’t it?”

Cornello quickly covered up the gleaming red stone as if that would deter Ed from his mission. “The ring is just a ring. Leto is the only thing granting me my abilities, not some  _ stone _ .”

“Still trying to pull that line on me?” Ed just kept stalking closer. Becca stayed back, near Al, both ready to jump in if needed, but, despite his short stature and garish fashion, they knew Ed could be intimidating when he wanted to be. Becca hoped against hope that maybe, just maybe, Cornello would just give up the stone and they could leave without a fight, however bleak those odds were becoming. “If you think I won’t just come up there and beat the truth out of you, you’re an even bigger idiot than you look!”

The final remnants of Father Cornello’s original sunny disposition faded away. “You really are quite a brat, aren’t you? Rose?”

“Y-yes, Father?”

Becca inhaled sharply.  _ Rose. _ She hadn’t spoken in so long, she’d forgotten the young woman was even in the room with them. She started forward, to stop Ed, they couldn’t just have an all-out battle with her in the room, there were too many dangerous things that could happen to a normal civilian-

“Pick up that gun, the one right by your feet.”

“I- alright,” she said, audibly uncomfortable even as she obeyed.

_ No! _

“Now, please shoot one of the State Alchemists.”

Becca’s eyes widened. Al’s armor creaked as he moved ever so slightly closer to Ed and all three of them turned to face a panic stricken Rose.

“I- I can’t do that, Father!” she whispered.

_ There’s hope after all. _ Becca jumped on that chance, the knowledge that Rose didn’t want to kill any of them. That want had to win out against her faith at all costs, so Becca did what she did best out of the three of them- she started convincing. “You don’t have to, Rose,” she said gently. “Just put down the gun-”

“Ah ah ah, I am the sun god’s chosen one,” Cornello interrupted. “My word is his word. Do it, Rose. That is an order from Leto.”

“Don’t do it,” Becca said in a more commanding tone. “You can’t take that bullet back, please, think about this-”

“Why are you hesitating?” he interjected again. “If you will not do it for Leto, there was a man on this Earth who brought you out of the darkness and into the light when your fiance was killed last year? Do you remember who that was?”

Rose let out a few heartbroken whimpers. “It was you, Father!”

“No matter what he did, you don’t owe him this. You don’t owe him anything!” Becca said urgently, but Rose didn’t even react to her, all her attention focused on the gun in her hands.

“Exactly, it was I who saved you from yourself when you were drowning in despair! And what did I promise you would happen if you followed all the commands given to me by Leto?”

“You said you’d bring him back!” Rose sobbed, eyes wide and teary.

“Yes!” Cornello encouraged, “And this is one of Leto’s commands! Now shoot them! Start with the Fullmetal Alchemist!”

Rose wept as she aimed the gun.

“Hey, wait!” Al protested, waving his hands frantically. “It’s not me!”

Rose faltered, sniffling. “I-it’s not?” She lowered the weapon and looked over at Ed, shocked.

“I’m the damn Fullmetal Alchemist!” Ed shrieked. “Not him! It’s me!”

“It’s the short one?” Cornello said in disbelief.

Becca took advantage of the distraction. “Listen to me, Rose, please, listen. I know how you feel. You want to bring him back, more than anything, so much it hurts, but it’s not worth this- I promise, it can’t be worth this-”

“Don’t you see?” Rose said brokenly, aiming the gun at Ed. “I don’t have a choice. I have to do this.”

“You do have a choice, we’ll make sure you get out of this okay,” Becca assured. “Put the gun down and we'll all get out of this.”

“He’s lying to you, Rose,” Ed chimed in. “He’s been lying to you- to everyone-”

“You’re wrong! He’s going to bring him back, I’ve seen his miracles, they work-”

“No, he won’t Rose, he’s using you to avoid getting his hands dirty,” Becca attempted to reason with her until Ed cut her off by putting an arm across her chest.

“Then shoot,” he challenged.

“Ed, no-!”

Rose sobbed once more before the gun went off. Becca heard Al scream as the armor clattered to the ground, then the telltale sign of his head rolling away.

“Al!”

“Dammit!”

Ed rushed to Al’s side while Becca slowly moved towards Rose, who still held the gun in her hand. The woman took in a shaky breath before a high, remorseful sound practically fell out of her mouth in the same moment the gun slipped out of her hand. Becca held out her own hands, aware that they were shaking but needing to show Rose that she wasn’t dangerous. “Rose, take my hand. Step away from the gun. It’ll be alright-”

“Well done, my child,” Cornello said paternally. “Leto is pleased with you. Now pick it back up and shoot the other two.”

“Haven’t you made her do enough already?” Al sat up as Ed retrieved his wayward head. “That was a horrible thing to make your disciple do!”

“How did you-?” Cornello muttered, staring at Al’s headless body.

“I thought I’d-” Rose started.

“It’s alright,” Becca said soothingly. “No harm done, right, guys?”

Ed frowned, knocking on Al’s chestplate. “Yeah, he’s pretty sturdy.”

Al leaned forward, showing the emptiness inside the armor. “See? I’m fine, don’t worry about it.”

Rose gasped, her hands over her mouth as Al fixed his head back into its place. Cornello spat in disgust at the brothers. “Don’t you see, Rose? These ‘children’ are just unholy abominations sent to test our faith in Leto! They must be destroyed!” He stepped back into the shadows and there was a loud scraping noise. Knowing where this was most likely going, Becca stepped back, falling in her usual spot on Ed’s left and crouching into a fighting position. A low growl emitted from under the landing the priest stood on and a chill went down Becca’s spine as she realized that this was no sanctuary- it was an arena. Cornello introduced their opponent darkly. “And I believe my chimera should be able to take care of them.”

Something that could only be described as a beast or a monster emerged out of the darkness. Glowing red eyes appeared first, followed by a mash up of several animals, and Becca swallowed nervously. She resisted the urge to form her usual staff and breathed out, already observing the chimera for weaknesses, of which she could find none.

“So this is what you’re using a Philosopher’s Stone for?” Ed asked, disgusted. “That’s sick. Either way, I guess I’ll need a weapon.” He lazily stepped forward, clapping his hands together to form an elaborate spear that Ed spun around in his right hand, slamming the blunt end into the ground.

Becca noticed Rose, clearly still panicked from thinking that she killed someone, standing stock still nearby. The poor woman glanced up at Father Cornello, who didn’t even bother looking at her, and Becca knew they’d have to protect her as well as themselves, since Cornello obviously wouldn’t.“Stay calm and stay over there, Rose,” she urged, creating her usual staff out of a nearby column and striking a defensive position. Alphonse deliberately put himself between Rose and the chimera as it stalked towards them.

“No transmutation circles?” Cornello asked furiously. “You  _ are _ gifted, I guess those titles aren’t just for show. However…” 

The chimera lunged. Becca met it halfway, batting its large paw away, twisting under the chimera, and sending it flying straight towards Ed, where it scratched at his leg, searching for purchase. She cringed. “Sorry!” she called out.

Cornello laughed. “Your weapons are no match for claws that can cut through iron!”

Unfazed, Ed just grinned darkly up at him. “You shredded my pants-” He swung his leg up, kicking the animal back, “-but I guess those claws don’t do as well against steel.”

“Bite the brat, you stupid beast!” Cornello ordered as he leaned over the railing. 

The chimera charged once more, this time heading straight towards Ed. Its teeth clamped around Ed’s arm, but he didn’t flinch. “That’s right, kitty, get a good taste!” he snarked. He ducked down, allowing Becca to jab the end of her staff at the chimeras forehead and knock it backwards.

“You have a metal arm too?” Cornello said with an ugly grimace. “And your brother- he’s just a suit of armor!” Understanding dawned across his face. “Oh- oh, I see. Yes, it’s all becoming clear. You did it, didn’t you?” Ed looked down, jaw locked, as he dramatically tugged off his cloak. Cornello laughed again. “The one thing every alchemist knows is entirely forbidden!”

“How about you come down here and fight me?” Ed provoked, “I’ll show you just how outclassed you are!”

Cornello turned to Rose, finally acknowledging her after basically leaving her to die if the chimera got past Al. Becca stared at Rose, waiting for her reaction as he taunted Ed. Rose, for her credit, looked horrified rather than delighted like Cornello, but when he finally told her exactly what had happened to the brothers- they’d attempted to resurrect someone- and her eyes filled with tears once again, Becca forced herself to look away from her and towards Cornello, lifting her chin defiantly.

“This is what happens when you try to play god,” Ed said quietly.

“You don’t want that, Rose. Believe me, you don’t,” Becca added.

Cornello sneered down at them, goading, “So really, the Fullmetal Alchemist isn’t even half a man- hell, he’s not even half a boy!” He turned on Becca, pointing accusingly at her. “And you! What price has arrogance taken from you? There’s no way any self-respecting alchemist could know what these two have done and stick with them unless you yourself did the same!”

“Oh, yeah? And you’re just some phony who needs that stone to do anything!” Ed shouted.

“Father, we just want you to give us the stone before someone gets hurt,” Al spoke up for the first time, holding out his hand.

“Why, so you can use it to trespass on God’s domain again?” Cornello mocked. “Please! If you’re so eager to  _ be _ gods, maybe I should just send you to meet him instead!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy and safe, and i'll see you all in the next update! -c


	7. ephemeral

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey my dears!
> 
> i'm sorry, i'm sorry, i'm sorry, i'm sorry! i've had this chapter finished for a hot sec, but right after i posted the last chapter my work opened unexpectedly for the summer and we were shortstaffed ALL SEASON, meaning i was basically working on this for ten-twenty minute increments whenever i had time.
> 
> but anyway! the time for excuses is over! we are in the now!
> 
> my school started about a week ago, so theoretically i'll be able to actually keep an updating schedule. either way, i am going to try and do a better job of keeping y'all updated on when i'll have to take hiatuses again. if you're still coming back after my unexpected break or if you're new who just found this because i finally updated and got this story back at the top of the list, thank you so much for every bit of support you give. you have no idea how much it warmed my heart whenever i had time to check on this and saw more kudos even though i wasn't active. i love each and every one of you so much and you have no idea how much i missed this while i was gone.
> 
> if you actually read my rambling, welcome to the end of my note! if you didn't, welcome to the next chapter!
> 
> ephemeral (adjective)- lasting for a very short time

Bright red transmutation energy crackled around Cornello, obscuring him from view until the tip a machine gun jutted out from the smoke.

Becca’s jaw dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Before she could react, Ed had grabbed her around the waist

and yanked her behind him in the same moment that he transmuted a thick stone wall in front of them as Cornello opened fire. Al moved quickly, shielding Rose even further as her supposed savior continued to disregard her life in favor of coming after Ed, Al, and Becca.

“Yeah, see, I don’t think God and me are on very good terms,” Ed said as the dust settled, one hand still raised as if bracing the stone. “Even if I did meet him, he’d probably just send me back!”

Cornello shouted, enraged.

“Al, go!” Becca shouted. When he hesitated, she demanded, “Get her out of here! We’ll be right behind you!” A moment’s hesitation, then Al nodded and scooped Rose up, making a break for the door as the priest fired another round of bullets. She snagged Ed’s hand and bolted after him. “Come on, we’re getting out of here too!”

A quick glance around proved that a dash for the door was too dangerous with Cornello raining bullets down onto them. However, Becca realized, Al wasn’t running for the door. He was running straight at the wall.

“Brother!”

“On it!” Ed shouted, clapping his hands, forming a huge stone door.

Becca rolled her eyes at his garish design, the horned doorknobs a stark contrast to the sun filled imagery throughout the rest of the church, as they dashed through and startled a group of loitering guards near the actual door. She briefly wondered if they’d been positioned there to stop them, should they escape from Cornello, but they had to run before she could really consider the possibility. She flashed a glance over her shoulder and groaned. In an odd show of agility, the old priest leaped down the stairs from his balcony, and he ran out the door behind them just a few seconds later.

“After them, you idiots!” he snapped at the dazed guards. As if compelled, each of them got to their feet, drawing guns as the father shouted at them, “Those heathens came here to disrupt our way of life and destroy the order! Go, seize them!”

Becca screwed her head forward, focusing on the hallway ahead, and started, “Ed, do you have a…” Her eyes widened and she slowed down. “...plan?” she said weakly. A line of white robes guards, chaperoned by two church officials dressed in black, blocked both forks in the hall.

“Alright, kids, that’s enough,” one of the brothers said in a faux warm tone.

“You’re unarmed and outnumbered,” the other agreed. “We don’t want to have to hurt a couple of little kids.”

Al slowed alongside Becca, giving his brother some space after the ‘little’ comment, both of them knowing what was surely to come. Ed, on the other hand, cackled, transmuted his arm into his usual weapon, and continued running at the guards. The apparent kamikaze move combined with a large, pointy blade spooked the guards. They scattered. (Ed punched a few to get them out of the way, but that’s neither here nor there.)

A second group around the corner was met with an equally terrifying sight: Alphonse kicking his way through the small crowd, Rose still shrieking in his arms. One man grabbed Becca’s wrist, squeezing tightly. She elbowed him in the stomach hard enough that he doubled over, then looked down at her wrist and huffed. That was going to leave a bruise. Ed laughed a little too gleefully as they bolted. 

“Here!” Becca spotted a broom closet and shouldered it open, only barely managing to squeeze into the tiny room with Ed, Al, and Rose while still shutting the door behind them. Rose looked like she was about to scream again, so Becca slapped a hand over her mouth until the guards’ footsteps faded. “Sorry,” she whispered. Rose stared at all three of them, wide eyed, as Becca lowered her hand. She looked to Ed and let her eyes fall to his arm. “You can probably put that away now. It’s taking up space.”

Ed rolled his eyes. “You’re just jealous of how badass my arm looks.”

Either way, one transmutation later, his arm was back to its normal shape, allowing them all a little more breathing room. Becca ran a thumb over the pendant on her choker as she thought. She resisted the urge to pace, then the urge to jump when Al asked, “So what are we going to do?”

“I think there’s only one thing to do,” Ed said with a shrug. “We know he has a Philosopher’s Stone, but we don’t know how he got it.”

“Or why he has it in the first place,” Becca added. “You said it yourself, Ed, he’s a second rate alchemist. Someone had to have made it for him, but why give up that kind of power? Especially when he’s kind of just… wasting it here?”

Ed smirked. “I think we might just be able to get those answers and that stone, all in one fell swoop.”

“Wait!” Rose interrupted. She looked down at her feet when they all looked at her, but soldiered on. “The Father must have a reason for everything, I’m sure he’s just confused and if you let him explain-”

The heavy feeling of pity sank into Becca’s stomach. Cornello was Rose’s beacon of hope, she’d made that perfectly clear. She hated to rip that away from her, but- “We need to get him alone, but we can’t let him escape the church grounds. If he has any of his followers with him, we run the risk of hurting innocent people as well as risking ourselves  _ again _ in an outnumbered fight. And…” She spared a look for Rose, meeting her eyes for only a second before looking away, “we need to get him to spill the truth.”

“Publicly,” Al suggested. “So everyone knows the truth. Whatever it may be.”

Ed held up a hand and gave Rose a firm look. “ _ You _ can bet he’ll be explaining a lot. But you have a choice here. You can either help us find the truth or you can try and hurt us. Which is it going to be?”

Rose hesitated. “I- I don’t-”

“How long has he told you what to do?” Becca implored. “What do  _ you _ want to do?”

Her gaze hardened ever so slightly. “Fine- fine, I’ll help. What do you need me to do?”

“Good choice,” Ed said. “Now listen, what do you guys think about this?”

\---

Becca ducked around a corner and through a door, purposely leaving it open so Cornello, hot on her tail, would have a clear path to follow. She stopped and looked around the garden she’d run into. The perfect playground for her to make some mischief. She checked in on the window of Cornello’s office. The light was still off, meaning that Ed’s trap wasn’t ready yet, and she could hear Cornello’s heavy footsteps and breathing getting closer and closer.

As the priest threw the door open, Becca giggled at his bright red face and hoisted herself up via a low hanging tree branch.

“You little wretch!” he shouted up at her. “Get back down here!”

“Make me,” Becca said cooly, gripping another branch. She shimmied along, keeping the window in sight as Cornello growled and followed along from the ground. He was without his machine gun, given that it would surely alarm at least a few of his clearer minded followers if he were to sprint through the church with a weapon, so he couldn’t shoot her out of the tree, but he did try to reach up and strike her legs and ankles with his cane to take her out. Becca kept barely dodging, only serving to frustrate him more and more with each missed swipe.

“Get down here and face your God!” he demanded.

“Don’t give yourself too much credit,” she said bluntly. “You can hardly call yourself a man, much less a god.”

Cornello laughed cruelly. “You have the nerve to insult my humanity while you travel with those two abominations? The Fullmetal Alchemist and his brother should hardly even be classified as real  _ people _ ! Not even I could save them now, not after the sins they’ve committed.” His eyes glinted. “Your soul- your very life- grows filthier every second you’re with them, but you could still be saved. Renounce them, child, and join me-”

Becca found herself wishing looks could kill. Cornello wouldn’t be a problem if that was the case.

“I’ll leave my friends when hell freezes over,” she said abruptly, “and you couldn’t ‘save’ me either.”

“You?” the priest said incredulously, looking her up and down. “How?”

“Like I’d tell you,” she scoffed. A quick change in the corner of her eye and she was off again, evaluating a few floors worth of window sills up to the newly lit up office.

“Now wait a- where are you going?” Cornello called. “My men said your friends had gone-”

_ Ah, _ she thought suddenly,  _ he thought I’d be leading him to Ed  _ and _ Al. And probably Rose as well. Then we’d be outside, surrounded by all of his people. He’d have even more of an advantage. _ Despite everything, she had to admit Cornello was tricky. Not particularly smart, but he knew how to use his surroundings to his advantage.  _ Not for long.  _ A small smile bloomed across her face as she leaped across a tiny gap to the first level of windows. She jumped and managed to catch the next sill, pulled herself up, arms shaking, to the next level, and crossed shakily to the next one over. She could hear Cornello shouting angrily and the door inside slamming, but she knew he wouldn’t get to his office before her.

Or she hoped he wouldn’t, at least.

The inkling of fear fueled her. She knocked on the window and she couldn’t stop relief from flooding her chest when Ed pushed the curtains aside and helped her inside.

“Thanks,” she panted, collapsing into Cornello’s chair. “You owe me.”

Ed practically hopped onto the desk, one of his legs coming to rest on each arm of her chair. “Uh-huh. I’ll be sure to treat you to some tea when we get back to East City. In the meantime, if I already owe you-" He kicked the arm of the chair his right foot sat on, sending it spinning. Becca shrieked. He grinned. "-Might as well."

She glared up at him through her fringe once the chair slowed to a stop. "Just for that, tack on some ginger snaps that I will  _ not _ be sharing." Ed rolled his eyes, going silent. Becca leaned back, feeling the chair recline slightly behind her and adopting a slightly more serious tone as the silence stretched longer and longer. “Are you okay?” she asked, concerned.

“What?”

Becca scoffed incredulously. “What Cornello said- he was a dick,” she said bluntly, pleased to see Ed quirk a tiny smile. “He had no right to talk to you like that-”

Ed’s face grew stormy as he turned away. “He wasn’t wrong-”

Becca gazed up sympathetically. She leaned forward, taking Ed’s hands. “Ed, look at me.” He bit his lip, not responding. She squeezed his flesh hand and requested, “Please?” Ed looked up, gold eyes hard, brows furrowed. Becca raised a brow. “Would you ever want Al to take something like that seriously? Hell, would you even let him consider it? Be honest.”

Thankfully, Ed shook his head. She pushed on. “Or me?”

He sighed heavily. “No,” he admitted.

“You wouldn’t let anyone who said that to us get through their next sentence, Ed,” she said earnestly.

“It’s different-”

“You’re no different than us,” Becca insisted, “Al would back me up on that.” She raised her chin, daring him to disagree.

He glanced away, then waved her off, dropping her hands. “Yeah, yeah,” he said, checking the time on the large, ticking grandfather clock. He wrinkled his nose. “How long do you think the old bastard is going to take?” he asked rhetorically, leaning back so his head tilted over the edge of the desk, but he lasted only a few seconds before he pulled his head back up to meet her eyes.

Footsteps thundered up the stairs, both of their heads snapping up. “Speak of the devil and he shall appear,” Becca said quietly as she stood up from her chair. “We’re continuing this later,” she promised.

Notably, Ed didn’t respond, just kicking his legs up onto the desk and levelling a heavy stare on the open door. Cornello dashed past, then backpedaled, his large form filling up the doorway, effectively caging her and Ed in. 

“You brats!” he snapped. “When I get my hands on you-”

“Look, can I just be straight with you here?” Ed interrupted heatedly. “All I want are some answers about the stone, alright?”

Becca tilted her head, crossing her legs at the ankles, looking every bit of a nonthreatening girl the priest assumed her to be as she leaned over the desk and ‘accidentally’ bumped the Father’s microphone switch to ‘on’.  _ Hopefully Al got that speaker to work. _ “We don’t need to get the military involved,” she added, lobbing a casual threat into Cornello’s periphery. If he wasn’t utterly dense, he’d pick up on the unspoken,  _ But we can. And we will. _

Cornello groaned exaggeratedly, looking over his shoulder before slamming the door shut behind him. There were a few moments where he seemed to wrestle with something, but he gave in. “What do you want to know?”

“That stone- it gives you insurmountable power, right?” Ed said, leaning forward almost hungrily. Becca put a hand on his back, if not to soothe him, then to at least ground him. Remind him that he couldn’t just go ahead and take the stone, no matter how much he wanted to. They had a plan to stick to.

“Yes, you’re well studied,” Cornello said, sneering patronizingly.

“Some might say you’re wasting that power,” Becca said with a forced cool tone. “Why stick around here with phony miracles when you arguably have the power of a god right there in your hands?”

“Oh, foolish children…” The priest chuckled darkly. “You truly do not understand the ways of the world.” His lips curved up into a gruesome smile. “With each miracle, I draw more and more followers to my call. Followers who would gladly throw their lives around if I asked them to. I’m building an army who’ll aid me in my quest to spread ‘Letoism’ to all corners of the earth, even at the cost of their own lives! Soon enough, I’ll be able to just point and they’ll follow my every command and we will rip this country to shreds!” He grinned maniacally. “After all, what use would I have for the stone after my goal is accomplished? I’m getting all the juice out of it now, and when I’m done, I won’t even need it anymore.” Cornello gave them a once over, snickering, “Perhaps if you two are obedient and keep your mouths shut, I’ll leave a bit of the leftovers for you!” Ending his monologue, he burst into loud laughter.

Becca and Ed shared a look. She smiled, shrugging, gesturing down to the switch, and they both started laughing as well, making Cornello stop short.

“What are you two laughing at?” he snapped.

Ed opened his eyes, smirking casually. “Sorry, sorry, it’s just-” He held up a hand and Becca picked up the switch, showing it off with a sweet smile. “-We knew you were a second rate.”

Cornello’s eyes widened. His gaze traced the wire down, down, down to the microphone that Ed had placed on the floor, sitting right between his feet. Becca could see the moment it all clicked in his mind.

“No!” he howled, feedback ringing through the city. “You wretched- wretched- how long? How long has that thing been on?”

“Pretty much as soon as you started talking,” Becca said proudly. “Don’t worry, I made sure your followers heard every word you had to say about them.”

“You’ll pay for this!” Cornello raged, raising his walking stick again.

Ed lurched off the table, charging Cornello with his alchemy crackling around his metal arm. “You’re not getting away with that trick again!” He sliced through the barrel of the machine gun- no, bazooka that Cornello had created- with ease, growling, “Face it, old timer. You’re outclassed.”

“Damn you! I am without rival!” Father Cornello shouted. A blinding red light encased his entire body, and Becca’s stomach lurched. Something about this transmutation felt different. Felt awful. Felt morbidly  _ wrong _ . She flinched back, guarding the microphone switch. They’d decided before, the more the townspeople heard, the more they’d snap out of this trance. Ed flipped away from the Father, protecting the switch as well, and landed behind the desk, next to her, in a crouch. She needed to keep the broadcast going as long as possible. But even she couldn’t stifle a gasp of shock when the light around Cornello faded, revealing a horrifying amalgamation of man and machine, his attempt to repair his gun having melded into the skin of his arm. Wideyed, the man made a surprised choking noise.

“A rebound…” Becca breathed. Cornello was losing his focus. He was unstable. And unstable, in Becca’s book, meant unpredictable. And unpredictable meant dangerous. They needed to end this fight, ASAP. Preferably before it even really started.

“No!” Cornello bellowed. “I will not be disgraced by two upstart children!” His eyes filled with a manic fire and red light spread from his ring up his arm, then over the rest of his body, obscuring him from view. Scraps of fabric flew as his form expanded past the limits of his clothes and his voice rumbled. “Behold the chosen emissary of the Sun God!”

“What the hell…?” Ed mumbled, standing up .

Becca swallowed thickly. “Uh oh.”

The priest lunged at them. Becca grabbed Ed’s hand, trying to make a run for the door, but Cornello was already on them. Luckily, his hulking form hit the side wall before them, knocking clean through the stone, and then they were falling- why were they falling?

Before she could fully register that, of course, Cornello’s office would share a wall with the chapel they’d been in earlier, she had landed with a thump on top of Ed, knocking the wind out of both of them. She scrambled off of him, rolling up to her feet and into a defensive stance. A quick glance sideways proved that Ed had done the same, and even Father Cornello had paused, his chest heaving. Heart in her throat, panting breaths the only sound in her ears, Becca leaned back as Cornello advanced.

It seemed like every punch she or Ed managed to land was met with two from the priest. She fell into an instinctual dance, twisting and leaping, occasionally meeting Ed’s eye and watching his back carefully. There was no way they could have planned for  _ this _ .

Cornello’s fist flew through the air, checking Becca and sending her spinning. Her shriek of surprise, however, did give Ed a split second warning, and even as she called out his name, she knew had managed to avoid injury, given that Cornello had grunted in pain. She shot towards his closed fist, hitting the back of his wrist with her full body weight. The force knocked his hand into his gut, pushing him back and revealing Ed, automail arm up in a blocking motion. Their eyes met and he grinned.

“Thanks, Bex.”

“Anytime.” She came to stand next to him, jutting her chin out as Cornello got to his feet once more. He swayed and stumbled a bit and Becca felt her mouth twitch into a smile. One touch between her and Ed, one brush of the arm, and the knowledge was shared between them. He was slowing down. Made sense, considering how big this body was compared to the one he was used to operating. Either way, it worked to their advantage.

The priest glared down at them. “Foolish children!” he snarled, “My word is the word of God! My fist is the fist of God!”

Next to her, Ed stiffened, then a slow, maniacal smile spread over his face. That look could only mean so many things, and, after she followed his gaze to the huge statue behind them, she had a feeling she knew what he planned to do.

“Edward, don’t-”

“Oh, so it’s the fist of God you want?” Ed shouted, taking off towards the foot of the statue. “Then I’ll give you the fist of God!” Blue energy, a stark contrast to the red from the Philosopher’s Stone, stemmed from Ed’s hands and danced over and up the stone statue of Leto. Becca took a running start, leapt at Cornello and clawed her way over his shoulder, then kicked him in the back and knocked him forward, simultaneously getting out of Ed’s way and providing a closer target. When she looked back, the statue’s huge stone hand had expanded and made a grabbing motion for the priest.

“Can’t go too fast like that, huh?” Becca observed when Cornello couldn’t move quite quickly enough to get himself out of the way and was smashed into the ground by the hand. “Nice work,” she said as Ed approached from the base of the statue. A quick glance showed morphing in the stone showing the exact track Ed’s transmutation had taken, quite literally creating the “fist of God” pinning Cornello down. “If a touch dramatic.”

“I believe the word you’re looking for is ‘badass’,” Ed said, then scowled down at the priest, whose eyes widened. “And as for you,” he said furiously, aiming a punch at Cornello with his metal arm, “Give me the damn stone!”

The priest raised a hand to defend himself, which Ed’s fist hit on the way to his face. Becca heard two snaps and winced, sure that Ed must have just broken Cornello’s nose and at least one of his fingers. However, her concern was quickly overshadowed by surprise when the tiny red stone gave one last weak burst of light before tumbling off of Cornello’s ring and onto the stone floor, where it broke.

Becca’s jaw dropped and she was unable to stop the surprised, “Huh?” from falling out of her mouth.

“It- it just broke?” Ed asked hollowly, as if to confirm what they’d all seen.

Cornello started to visibly sweat. “I- I don’t know how-”

_ It didn’t shatter, _ Becca thought, trying to catalogue what she’d just seen.  _ It just… disintegrated into nothing. No regular stone does that, but- _

“A Philosopher’s Stone can’t break, it’s perfect material!” Ed groaned despondently, bringing a hand up to his face.

“I don’t know anything about it,” Cornello said frantically, trying to scramble away. “You were right, I am a second rate alchemist- a third rate one, even! I didn’t make the stone, please spare me-”

“So that means…” Becca said slowly.

Their eyes met for a moment before Becca looked away, her stomach sinking. “It’s a fake,” they said in unison.

Numbly, Ed mumbled to himself, “We risked  _ everything _ for this chance, did everything we did today… All that work and the stone’s a damn fake.”

Becca bent down, busying herself with working the stone fist off of Cornello’s lower body, the mundane action allowing her to organize her thoughts. They hadn’t had a lead this promising since… since the MacDougal hunt years ago, and given what she’d just seen, it was likely that the one back then easily could have been a fake too. She was pulled out of her reverie when Cornello was freed and immediately scrambled away from her, looking fearfully up at Ed. He laughed nervously. “So, ah… what about me?”

Ed’s eyes snapped up from his boots, filled with fiery rage once again. “I really don’t give a damn what you do! Just get out of here!” he snapped. He stomped once in Cornello’s direction, spooking the old man into practically crawling away, still snivelling out excuses as Becca stood back up and slung an arm around Ed’s shoulders.

“I’m sorry, Ed,” she murmured, looking at the spot on the floor where the stone had vanished.

He huffed, letting his head fall on her shoulder. “Don’t apologize,” Ed said like he always did. “‘S not like it’s your fault.” He sighed heavily and put his head on top of his hand, allowing her to lean her head against his hair. They were silent for a few moments until Ed guiltily asked, “How am I supposed to tell Al?  _ What _ am I supposed to tell him?” He pasted a fake smile onto his face, sarcastically offering, “‘Sorry, buddy, we were literally  _ this _ close to fixing the biggest mistake of our lives, but it was yet another false lead. My bad!’”

She let out a breath, biting her lip. “He won’t be angry with you,” she said gently. “He might be disappointed, but so are you, right?”

“That’s one way to describe it,” Ed said. “This was closer than we’ve ever gotten, and somehow, we still ended up with nothing to show for it.”

Becca thought for a moment, but she couldn’t come up with anything that would make the situation better, though that didn’t stop her from trying. “I’m sure he won’t see it that way,” she reasoned. “You know Al, he always sees the bright side.” She smiled sadly, gesturing to the two of them with a flippant hand that she then wrapped around Ed’s shoulders. “Certainly better than we do.”

Though it wasn’t much of a reaction, Ed gave her a gloomy chuckle. She squeezed his shoulders and suggested, “C’mon. Let’s go get your coat and get out of this damn desert.”

\---

Becca had let go of Ed, letting him lead the way as they exited the church and giving the brothers a few moments alone. She paused at the doorway and took in the massive building’s interior from the main door. It was depressing, really. Earlier, the place had been bright with sunlight, but the church had been abandoned, within hours of the revelation and no one had gone around to light the candles hanging around the shadowy hall. The huge building was so out of place in such a rundown town where she could tell the residents had put genuine effort in to aid a cause they believed in, and now everything it stood for was gone.

“What a waste,” she said to herself, sighing a bit as she turned away from the sorry sight to the huge double doors leading outside, taking in the sun setting over the multiple levels. Her eyes travelled down to where Ed and Al were standing alongside the luggage, both their heads bowed as they spoke in low voices. She flipped the collar of her jacket up, taking one more glance around the sprawling town, and started her descent down the stairs.

“I can’t believe he did all that and it was just a fake,” Al was saying. Neither brother turned to look at her, but she could tell they knew she was approaching by a subtle shift back towards her to include her in their little group. She smiled ruefully, touching Al’s arm.

“It sucks,” Becca said frankly, shrugging dejectedly. “There’s no other way to say it, it just sucks.”

“I really am sorry, Al,” Ed said. “I thought this was it. I thought we were going to get your body back.”

Al shoved Ed’s shoulder, shaking him out of his somber mood. “I was more worried about your automail, dummy! You put it through so much, eventually it’s just going to break, and then what?”

Looking a bit livelier, Ed shoved Al back. “Not like I can help it when we keep getting into fights like that!”

Becca giggled, joining in the banter. “And who’s fault is that? I’ll give you a hint, it’s not usually me or Al.”

“You guys always pick on me. I’m the older brother, so you should at least watch it, Alphonse,” Ed complained, sticking his tongue out at them. They went quiet for a few moments, then burst out into laughter. Becca revelled in the pure childishness of the action. “We’re alright,” Ed said as they caught their breaths. “We’ve just got to keep looking somewhere else, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Al and Becca said in unison.

Though it wasn’t a grin, Ed shot them a tiny, genuine smile. “Let’s get out of here,” he said.

“Stop! Don’t take another step!”

Becca’s eyes flew up to the figure coming up to the staircase, narrowing her eyes to see through the evening desert haze. Her face fell. “Rose…”

The young woman stopped about ten feet away and slowly raised the tiny handgun Cornello had given her earlier. Becca inhaled sharply, noting Rose’s shaking hands. From what she’d picked up on from Rose, as well as her behavior when she’d fired on Al earlier, Becca couldn’t imagine Rose would actually shoot, but sadness, anger, and desperation were unpredictable variables, especially after the day she’d had- they’d all had.

“Give me the Philosopher’s Stone!” she demanded, voice trembling. “I know you have it- give it to me!”

“It wasn’t real. Cornello’s Stone was a fake-” Becca explained.

“You’re lying!” Rose cried, her face contorting with pain as she waved the gun haphazardly between Ed and Al. “You’re just trying to keep it for yourself so you can… so you can use it on your bodies! And bring your mother back!”

All three of them flinched backwards, even Becca, though the jab wasn’t directed at her. Ed recovered first, clenching his fist. “Shut up!” he snapped. “Don’t talk about things you don’t understand!” His voice got softer, though it still held an undertone of anger from her insinuation. “People don’t come back from the dead, Rose. Not ever.”

The young woman flinched and Becca winced, preparing for a gunshot. However, by the time she’d touched her hands together and reached for the ground, Rose had already collapsed to her knees on the landing. The gun skittered away, falling down a few steps. At least the damn thing was finally out of the way. Once she verified that it was out of reach, however, she was left with only one option: to look at Rose.

“This can’t be happening,” the woman said weakly. “He said he could bring him back… How am I supposed to keep going without him?”

Becca’s heart cried out for her. Earlier in the closet, there was still a blossom of hope, and she thought Rose had honestly thought it would have all just been a misunderstanding and she’d just help them prove it, when that clearly wasn’t how the day ended. Even as Ed put a hand out to stop her, she crossed the landing and knelt next to Rose, who lowered her head into her hands with a despaired sob. “Why does it have to be like this? What am I supposed to do?” she demanded, then begged, “Please… tell me!”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Becca began, hesitantly reaching out to move Rose’s hands away from her face and holding them between her own. “But you need to hear this, from someone who made an even bigger mistake in the same circumstances: you can’t throw your life away because you lost someone. They wouldn’t want that. They would want you to be happy and safe, not risking everything for something you know is impossible. Because I think you’re smart, Rose. A lot smarter than that good for nothing ass gave you credit for. I think you knew he wasn’t coming back.” Rose’s face crumpled a bit more, but she didn’t deny it. Becca continued, “You were taken advantage of. You made mistakes. I understand. But you  _ can _ make up for them. This is not the end of your life as long as you don’t let it be. You have so much more to give to this world if you’re willing to stick around and work for it. I promise.”

Rose’s lip quivered, but she didn’t cover her face again when Becca let go of her to stand up. She heard Ed’s uneven footsteps and Al’s clanking ones coming up behind her, and eventually passing both her and Rose.

“We can’t tell you what to do,” Ed said firmly. “It’s time for you to decide that on your own. You’ve got two perfectly good legs. You need to get up and use them.”

It was silent for a moment as it became clear that Rose wasn’t going to respond, simply turning her head up to the sky and letting tears drip down her face. Becca felt her face fall as she forced herself to start walking down the stairs as well. She suddenly remembered the thrown away gun and bent down to pick it up. She looked down at it, then back at Rose.

“Good luck,” she said quietly, tossing the pistol into a nearby fountain. She hoped she’d ruined it.

\----

Liore was nearly silent as they trudged back to the train station. It was as if the whole town was holding its breath, but they couldn’t afford to stay and see the aftermath. Al’s naturally loud footsteps seemed out of place in the still city.

“Do you think the colonel will send someone to check on this place?” Becca asked quietly.

Ed glanced around apprehensively. Becca couldn’t help but copy him, feeling like many pairs of eyes were watching her from the windows around them. He shook his head. “Yeah- yeah, I’m sure he’ll send some troops in to make sure the transition goes smoothly after he reads your report.”

Despite the tension thick in the air, Becca rolled her eyes and pointedly argued, “ _ Our _ reports.”

“Your reports are always better than mine anyway,” Ed said with a hand wave. “The bastard's more likely to listen to you.”

“Maybe he’d listen to you if you were a little more respectful, Al suggested, getting into the playful jabs as well.

“I’ll be respectful when he’s actually respectable,” Ed snarked, shrugging. He glanced around the formerly crowded square again as they passed through towards the station. “You think there’s going to be any trains coming through tonight?”

Slowing down a bit, Al’s small voice asked, “There’ll have to be, right?”

“Of course there will,” Becca assured him more confidently than she meant to. “It’s not like the train conductors are going to be affected by any of this.”

Thankfully, although the station itself was empty, they’d bought tickets ahead of time and their nighttime train rolled in right on time. They boarded easily and tossed their bags up onto the racks before settling down in two seats facing each other. However, after a few moments, Al declared he was still too wound up to sit still and wait and opted to go for a walk until the train started up again. On the other hand, once she was sitting, Becca felt the entire weight of the day sag down on her shoulders and she sighed heavily, massaging her wrist where a ring of bruises was steadily forming from the guard grabbing her earlier.

“You okay?”

She turned to look at Ed, closed eyed and sinking further into the bench with every second, and forced a smile. “Yeah. Just… tired, I think.”

“Mmm… Me, too.”

She chuckled. “I hadn’t noticed,” she said sarcastically.

He cracked one eye open, his nose wrinkling with the unimpressed look he shot her. “Oh, so eloquent.” He sat up and stretched. “Not at all like your speech earlier. Did you plan that?”

“No,” she said pointedly. “Just something along the lines of what I wish someone would have told me.”

Ed went quiet. “Would it have made a difference?” he asked.

Becca sat up, raising an eyebrow in his direction. “What do you mean?”

“Our teacher- well, I guess she didn’t tell us any more directly than any of the books, but she taught us that life all went one way. It flowed. And we still tried to go against it.” His eyes met hers. “Would you have been desperate enough to still try?” He nodded his head out towards the town and asked, “Will she?”

She had to stop and consider that question, laying her head back on the back of her seat. “I… I don’t know what I would have done. I guess, looking back, I thought it might have stopped me, but hindsight is always perfect, then, isn’t it?” She shrugged bitterly. “As for Rose, it’s like you said. She has to decide that for herself. Maybe with both of our advice, she’ll make better choices.” She frowned. “Speaking of advice, we still have to finish our conversation from earlier.”

He exhaled quietly. “I thought you’d forgotten.”

“You  _ wish _ ,” she teased, her lips quirking up slightly before she settled back down. “Ed… what did you mean back there? That you’re different than me and Al?” Ed shifted in his seat. Becca’s heart sank as she realized he’d moved away from her. She started to apologize, “Look, if you don’t want to talk about it with me, I-”

“You guys got forced into it.”

It took Becca a few moments before she processed his words. “I can lay off- wait, what?” He flinched away, but she quickly grabbed for his hand and stopped him dead. “No, Ed, hang on, what?”

He refused to meet her eyes. “Your dad made you- you wouldn’t have done it on your own. And Al never wanted to… I made him. If I’d listened to him instead of him listening to me, he would still be… normal.”

Becca blinked. “Ed…”

“I’m the one who should have gotten punished, not him-”

“Al would not-”

“I pushed him, just like your dad pushed you.”

She held up a hand, cutting him off abruptly. “Edward,” she said firmly. “That is not true.” Ed finally looked up as her tone became more serious, though he kept his gaze firmly trained on the seat across from them, avoiding her. She ignored the pang in her chest and kept going. “You are  _ not _ anything like my father. My father was a selfish, cruel man who thought he knew better and deserved more than everyone else and was willing to murder someone to get it. You were a little kid who made a mistake.”

“But-”

“And-” she continued, not letting him get a word in. “In my father’s mind, he wasn’t making a mistake. He planned to kill me, and he basically killed Louisa, to get this special power that he thought would buy back his position in life. You wanted your mom back, just like Al did. Just like I did. We’ve all made the same mistake. We all want to do our best to rectify it, together.” She scooted slightly closer. “We’re both with you, Ed. Me and Al.”

The car went silent as Ed moved, slowly swivelling to face her. There was something in his eyes, softening the usual impenetrable wall he kept up to almost everyone outside of her and Alphonse. If she weren’t so in control of her poker face, Becca might have been visibly surprised. A vulnerable Edward Elric, after all, was not a common sight.

“Bex, I-”

Suddenly, they were both jolted forward as a whistle screamed through the night air. Ed recovered first, going for his pocket watch and swearing as he got to his feet. “It’s running early,” he said. “Where’s Al?” 

Becca had to lay a hand on his arm to keep him from leaping off the train. “Let’s think this through, we can go talk to the workers and stop the train until he gets here-”

“I’m here!” Al’s large form crashed through the door attaching their car to the others ahead. “I ran into the conductor in town and told him we were here and the only boarders, everything’s fine!”

Ed and Becca each let out a relieved breath before all three of them sagged onto the benches. It didn’t seem like anyone was in the mood for much talking- taking down a power hungry wannabe at the expense of an entire town’s beacon of hope was both physically and emotionally exhausting, Becca decided- and it seemed like her conversation with Ed had come to another forcible halt, but Ed did give her a purposeful look. She smiled gingerly and shifted into the empty space between them, stretching her legs out over where she’d been sitting.

Although she couldn’t see him, Becca could have sworn she felt him exhale into her hair and relax as the train started picking up speed back towards East City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy and safe, and i'll see you in the next update! -c


	8. brabant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey hey hey my dears!
> 
> i'm cutting it a bit short, but i am on schedule! it's super late on thursday for me, so this gives me hope that i'll be able to stick with a biweekly timeline.
> 
> i have the next few chapters all planned out, but, tbh, these next couple chapters are going to be rough. i think the nina arc is one of my least favorites in the show, not because it's bad, but i just hate things happening to kids. but luckily there is a light at the end of the tunnel because i am so excited about the upcoming chapter 10/11! i actually wanted y'all's opinions on this, because i am so conflicted: would you guys prefer chapter 10 to be one realllly long chapter, or should i split it into two semi-short chapters. either one is a possibility, but if anyone has any particularly strong feelings, please let me know. i always love hearing from readers, it makes my little heart happy!
> 
> on an unrelated note, please register to vote if you're legally able to!
> 
> brabant (noun)- the fun of pushing someone's buttons

Balancing a cup of coffee, a cup of water, and two large covered breakfast plates from the cafe car in her hands and a newspaper from their morning stop in her mouth, Becca hustled down the aisle, feeling one of the plates tipping dangerously.

“Ed, Ed, Ed,” she said urgently.

Ed stood quickly, taking his plate and coffee before anything spilled. He smiled guiltily. “Thanks, Bex.”

“Don’t mention it.” She set her breakfast down next to her seat and dug through the side pocket of her suitcase for a teabag, then touched her hands together to heat up her water. While she let it steep, she criss-crossed her legs once Ed sat down and pulled her plate into her lap. She took off the cover, revealing a simple meal of eggs and a roll of bread. Next to her, Ed dug in, but the headline of the newspaper she’d picked up caught her eye, so she picked up the roll rather half heartedly with one hand while the other went for the paper. “Huh,” she said, setting her food down to flip to the full story. “Someone killed Brigadier General Grand the other night.”

“Grand?” Al asked, glancing up from the book he was reading. “I know that name…”

“Basque Grand, the Iron Blood Alchemist. He’s an Ishvalan war hero,” Becca informed, though she didn’t look up from the story, “and a major powerhouse. My dad admired him.” Her brows furrowed. “I can’t imagine how difficult it would have been to win a fight against him. And, according to this, he’s not the only alchemist who’s been murdered recently. There’s been...” She counted the small list given by the article, “eight other current or former State Alchemists, plus Grand.”

Ed peered curiously over her shoulder at the small print. “How much information have they released?”

“Do they mention any suspects?”

Becca scanned the article quickly.”There’s not much here. Just that it looked like he definitely didn’t go quietly, but there weren't any reports of a commotion.” She hummed, folding the paper back up. “Odd.”

Ed shrugged, going back to his food. “The guy had to have had enemies.” He took a long sip of coffee and pointed out, “Especially if he was in Ishval. We had a few skirmishes near us when we were growing up. It was ugly on both sides.”

“It never really reached Adethal,” Becca said thoughtfully, “but my dad would always talk about any serious attacks.”

Al shook his head. “Hopefully they find out who did it,” he said. “Maybe we can ask the colonel for some more information that they might have not been able to give to the reporters.”

“Ugh, I almost forgot we had to report to the bastard,” Ed groaned. “Do you think he would have sent someone to get us or would he get some sort of sick enjoyment out of making us walk?”

Becca raised an eyebrow in his direction. “I doubt Mustang centers his entire life on trying to make you miserable, Ed.”

“Nope, just the days I’m in town,” Ed said, rolling his eyes. Becca laughed, then glanced up as the train started to slow, the now familiar East City train station coming into view. Ed pressed himself up against the window with Becca peering out by perching atop the train bench above him. Even Al moved to look outside, scanning for the usual military blue. A uniformed figure stood near one of the doors, smoking.

“There’s Lieutenant Havoc,” Al said before Becca could open her mouth.

She didn’t sit down as the train jolted to a stop. Instead, she lost her balance, made a wild grab for her suitcase on the luggage rack, succeeding in pulling it down but simultaneously stumbling back onto the floor onto her ass, earning her a few glares from some solemn looking businessmen. Ed and Al both burst into laughter and she stuck out her tongue at them, but accepted the hand Ed offered once he’d recovered from his giggling fit.

“You try to make things more efficient and this is what you get,” she grumbled good naturedly as he pulled her up.

Ed gave a few final chuckles, catching hold of his own luggage. “Yeah, sure. You want us to mention why we’re running late to Havoc or you wanna get going?”

“Alright, alright, I don’t see a need for that,” she said quickly. She picked up her suitcase from where it had fallen, following Ed as he hopped off the train. Havoc hadn’t bothered to meet them, so they headed for the exit where Becca could see a small column of smoke rising above the jostling crowd.

Once the crowd parted, all three of them hurried towards Havoc, who raised a hand in greeting, grinning mischievously. “Hey Chief, little lady, Alphonse. It’s good you three are back. It’s been too quiet around headquarters.”

“It’s good to be back,” Becca said.

“It was nice of the colonel to send someone for us,” Al pointed out, nudging his brother, who scoffed derisively.

Havoc laughed, walking towards a standard military parked on the shoulder of the road, the crowd thinning out as they left the station.“Don’t worry, Ed. He didn’t send me, I volunteered. Your hate can go on unimpeded.”

“Good,” Ed said sarcastically as he climbed in the back seat, leaving his bag on the sidewalk. Al quickly slid in next to him and Becca easily followed, throwing both her and Ed’s bags onto the opposite facing seat before climbing in herself. “I would hate being in debt to him for anything.”

\---

Havoc was like a fun older brother, smoking out the window and joining in the bantering between Becca and the Elrics. The ride and subsequent walk through Eastern Headquarters felt quick, even with the extra stop at the barracks to drop off their luggage and Ed dragging his feet the closer they got to the office.

“Look who’s back!” Havoc announced, throwing the door open, only to receive a host of glares from the busy military team. The whole group relaxed after a moment and gave the trio a few kind welcomes.

“What are you guys working on?” Ed asked in an uncharacteristically sweet tone, leaning back against one of the spare desks kept in the room in case he or Becca needed to use it.

Fuery piped up, “We’re reviewing old case files-”

Hawkeye gave Ed a stern look, cutting Fuery off with a curt, “Good try, Edward. The colonel is waiting for you two.”

Ed dropped the facade, whining, “But-!”

“Al and I wanted to go straight there-” Becca said defensively.

“Yeah, Brother made us stop-” Al agreed.

“Enough,” she said firmly, pointing to the door to the inner office. “Go, all of you.”

Ed huffed, Becca sighed, and Al chuckled as they made their way to Mustang’s door. Becca saw Lieutenant Hawkeye smile fondly out of the corner of her eye, but Al’s large body blocked her view as he shepherded her and Ed inside.

“About time,” Mustang said, glancing up from his pile of paperwork.

“Aw, is Hawkeye actually making you do your job?” Becca said pointedly, not as openly mocking as Ed would have been, but more casual than she would have been when they first met. 

She didn’t even flinch when he raised his eyebrow at her, the picture of nonchalant arrogance. Instead, she smiled agreeably, tilting her head with a shrug. “Adorable,” Mustang said sarcastically. “Really cute.” He pushed his papers aside. “Honestly, you three were just late.”

“Our train got caught up in New Optain this morning,” Al said.

Mustang waved the excuse off. “No matter.” He leaned back, reclining a bit in his office chair. “Thank you for taking care of the priest.”

“‘S not like we did it for you,” Ed said grumpily, plopping down on one of the couches.

The colonel clicked his tongue. “This Stone was a false lead too?” he assumed.

Ed grunted. “It was at least a convincing fake. It gave Cornello real power. He transmuted this chimera right in front of us, but then… it broke.”

“It was just like the Freezer a few years ago,” Becca asserted, leaning against the side table next to the couch.

“I still don’t understand  _ how _ he used the stone like that,” Al added, more to Ed than Mustang or Becca.

Becca bit her lip, considering. “I guess it might help if we knew more about bioalchemy. Maybe that could even help with getting your bodies back.”

Ed visibly perked up at that. He crossed one leg across his knee, leaning forward and leering at Mustang. “Bioalchemy, huh?”

“I don’t like that look,” Mustang cut him off, his cool smile somewhat strained.

“Given that we handled the Liore situation-” Ed started. Becca let out a short laugh, but went quiet, smiling demurely at Mustang as Ed continued, “I’d say you owe us.”

“You were there on an order,” Mustang pointed out.

“We did it with significantly less property damage than usual,” Ed retorted.

Mustang sighed heavily, leaning towards him. “If that’s what you consider a favor, then fine, I owe you. I don’t want to be in that position for long. What do you want?”

“Is there anyone around here who  _ does _ know anything about bioalchemy?” Ed asked excitedly.

Humming thoughtfully, Mustang shuffled a few of his papers around until he found a thin file. “As it happens,” he said, opening the manila envelope and checking a few of the papers before passing it across the desk. Becca, already standing, grabbed it and handed it over to Ed, both her and Al looking over his shoulder. “Shou Tucker, the Sewing Life Alchemist,” Mustang narrated. “Researches and creates chimeras for the state. I could introduce you to him later this afternoon-”

“What?” Ed interrupted indignantly, his head snapping up from the sheaf of papers. “Why not now?” Al went ahead and took the papers and flicked through on his own while Becca laid a calming hand on Ed’s shoulder.

Mustang smirked at the two of them. “Well, you two have been out of town for quite a while. I was thinking we could sit down for tea.”

Ed’s face went red. Becca glanced over at him, then warningly said, “Colonel…”

“We’re a bit busy for  _ tea _ ,” Ed spat, making Mustang laugh.

“Alright, Fullmetal, don’t have a conniption,” he said as his smirk fell back into place. “Let me finish this stack so Hawkeye doesn’t blow my head off and we can go.”

\---

“Two years ago, Tucker earned his certification by transmuting a chimera that could understand human speech,” Mustang said, flicking on his turn signal out of the headquarters parking lot. They’d changed cars from the one they’d taken with Havoc, so Ed and Al had crowded into the backseat, leaving Becca the shotgun side.

“Like it could obey commands?” Becca asked. “I thought that was the point of chimeras in general.”

“More than that,” he said solemnly. “Supposedly, it was actually able to speak- albeit, not exactly like us. It mostly just repeated words and phrases it heard.” He shrugged, then amended, “At least that’s what I thought from reading the initial briefings. I never saw it.”

“Why not?” Ed asked from the back. “They didn’t bring it back to HQ?”

Mustang glanced at him through the rearview. “I didn’t find him like I did you, and I wasn’t high up in the ranks enough to warrant me going to his test at the time. And according to the documents, the chimera only said one thing that wasn’t just repeating something Tucker had told it: ‘I want to die’. Then it wouldn’t eat, and, eventually, it got its wish.”

A chill went down Becca’s spine. A quick look backwards proved she wasn’t the only one unnerved by the story.

“I noticed in the file that- uh- Tucker failed his State Exam last year,” Al said after a few moments of quiet absorption. “I thought that was an automatic expulsion from the program.”

Shrugging, Mustang kept his hard gaze fixed on the road. “Usually it is. The Fuhrer, however, decided that chimeras were apparently a finicky subject and gave Tucker an exemption, provided he passes his upcoming test this year.” He stopped the car outside of a metal gate, glancing out at the large house behind the wall. “This should be the place.”

“Whoa!” Ed exclaimed as they all clambered out of the car. “This place is huge!”

Mustang pushed the gate open, walking ahead of them and detailing, “From what I’ve heard, Tucker’s experiments have been… varied in results, and he lives alone-”

A shadow loomed over the three teens. Becca and Al jumped out of the way, but Ed, in between them, wasn’t so lucky. He shrieked as a huge white dog thumped down on top of him.

“Brother!” Al fretted.

Becca glanced around warily, scooting slightly closer to Mustang, though she wouldn’t admit it. “Apparently your sources were wrong.”

“I don’t think my sources account for canines,” he snarked.

The door creaked open and she looked up to see a middle aged, bespectacled man… and a little girl with braided hair, peering around his leg. Becca’s eyes widened and she turned to the colonel. “I think you need to get better sources.”

“Nina, that dog is supposed to be tied up,” the man said tiredly, then noticed Mustang and immediately straightened up. “Colonel Mustang, sir! I wasn’t aware you were coming by until my assessment day-.”

“Yes, Mr. Tucker, it’s a pleasure.” Mustang extended a hand as Becca knelt down to try and shove the dog off of Ed.

“Alexander, get off of him,” the little girl commanded fondly, running out to tug on the dog’s collar, apparently before she’d actually looked around at all of them. Once she noticed, however, she gasped happily and exclaimed, “Daddy, look at all the visitors!”

Her father, who had barely left the doorway to greet Colonel Mustang, turned to the other three, apparently just noticing them as well. “Nina, take the dog inside and go play upstairs. Daddy has some business to attend to.” Something unpleasant awoke in Becca’s stomach when he didn’t use the dog’s name- presumably Alexander.  _ It’s probably nothing, _ she told herself, trying to shake the feeling, but there was something off about how Tucker spoke to his daughter that something in her didn’t like.

Mustang held up a hand. “I’m not here for business, more for a personal favor.” He gestured to Ed, Becca, and Al, the latter two trying to help the former brush dog hair off his clothes as Alexander himself sat nearby with his mistress, wagging his tail. “May we come in?”

Tucker blanched. “Of course, of course.” He waved them through the door, the little girl and her dog trotting in behind them, quickly disappearing up the stairs while Tucker walked them through the house. “Sorry about the mess. Things have been… difficult since my wife ran out. Not a lot of time for cleaning.” Becca wrinkled her nose at  _ that _ particular implication, but she kept her mouth shut, knowing how important this research could prove to be. “Coffee?” the man offered.

“No, thank you,” Becca and Al said politely at the same time that Ed and Mustang both agreed, “Thank you.”

“This is Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist,” Mustang introduced, “and Rebecca Harper, the Illusion Alchemist.” He gestured to Al and said, “And Edward’s brother, Alphonse, of course.”

“A pleasure,” Tucker said while he readied a few cups. “Please, sit, make yourselves comfortable. This will only be a moment.”

Ed, Mustang, and Al took three chairs on one side of the table, leaving the only two remaining chairs on the other side. Becca made a face and opted to instead lean against the dusty wall behind them rather than sit next to Tucker. She’d prefer to observe from afar, keep an eye on Tucker’s interactions with Mustang and the boys, and try to figure out what was giving her such an awful pit in her stomach. He smiled paternally once he’d sat down. “Once again, it’s nice to meet you three. As I’m sure the colonel told you, my name is Shou Tucker, the Sewing Life Alchemist.”

“Ed has developed an interest in biological alchemy,” Mustang said. “I suggested he, Al, and Becca have a look at your research, if you’ll allow it.”

“Of course, I don’t mind-” She saw Ed and Al share a triumphant look, but Becca doubted  _ any _ State Alchemist would be giving up their secrets without a little extra incentive. “-However…”  _ There it is. _ Tucker’s glasses glinted, “If I show you the tricks up my sleeve, I think it’s only fair if I see the tricks up all of yours. That’s what we live for as alchemists, isn’t it? Equivalent exchange? Why do you want to learn to transmute living things?”

Becca stood up a little straighter as Mustang, in a rare showing of anxiety, started, “Now, Mr. Tucker-”

Ed held up a hand. “Colonel, it’s okay. He’s right.”

“Ed, you don’t have to-” Becca protested.

He gave her a firm look over his shoulder, but Tucker just laughed. “And I’d love to hear why  _ you’ve _ come along with them as well, Miss Harper. Please, sit down with us.”

She narrowed her eyes, then glanced at Ed and knew she’d have to give in. “Fine. But I’m okay standing, thanks.”

\---

“So you attempted human transmutation? All of you,when you were so young?” Tucker asked disbelievingly. He was staring at Ed’s newly revealed metal arm, looking horrifyingly amazed. “I suppose that’s where you got your codename.” He hummed, standing up wordlessly. 

“I trust you understand why we can’t risk this getting out,” Mustang said, taking a little control of the situation. “As your commanding officer, I’m asking you to keep this-”

“I can’t promise my research will be of any use to you, but a deal is a deal. Come with me,” Tucker interrupted, opening up a large set of double doors. He shot them an eerie smile over his shoulder. “And of course I’ll keep it low profile. We all have our secrets, don’t we?”

_ Yeah, well, most of us don’t have secrets that are totally illegal, _ Becca responded suspiciously in her head. In a cutthroat field where most alchemists she knew of would tattle on them in an instant if it meant getting ahead, especially if they’d just met  _ that day _ , why would Tucker agree to keep their secret? Leverage to use against them later? The fact that Mustang was his CO and politely ordering him to? Some other secret that could get Tucker himself in trouble-

“Becca, come on,” Ed said impatiently, standing at the door. 

Becca blinked, filing that line of questions away for consideration later. “Sorry,” she said, pushing off the wall. “Coming.”

Tucker lead them through a dark room filled to the brim with cages, tanks, jars- Becca chanced a look around and saw almost any type of container she could think of filled to the brim before her stomach seized and she had to screw her gaze down to the floor rather than focus on the grotesque amalgamations surrounding them.

“This is a bit embarrassing,” Tucker said, too offhandedly to ease Becca. She stood stock still in the middle of the room even as Ed, Al, and Mustang spread out to observe the… creatures. “I’m supposed to be the leading expert on chimeras, but I’m afraid I’ve had some… difficulties with my craft as of late.” Becca forced herself to look up when Tucker  _ laughed _ , of all things, and waved a hand towards a stack of some sort of rabbit hybrids in cages. “Not for lack of trying, obviously.” Without another word, he kept walking towards another set of double doors. “My library is in here.”

He flicked on a light, revealing shelves upon shelves of books and journals. Ed’s eyes lit up at the treasure trove of information. “Wow! This is amazing!”

“I’m going to be working out here in the lab if you need anything, but otherwise, feel free to look around,” Tucker said.

“We will!”Ed said excitedly, rushing over to one shelf. “I’ll start over here, and Al-”

“I’ll start here,” Al interrupted, apparently having already selected a few books that were worth checking.

Becca spotted one journal with  _ Deconstruction and Combination  _ scrawled onto the spine and decided, “I’ve got something here-”

“Actually,” Mustang cut her off, “Becca, I was hoping that you’d take a quick walk with me after the boys get settled.” He said he had been hoping, but his tone left almost no room for argument. Even so, Ed was quick to meet her eyes and she knew he  _ would _ argue if she let him know she didn’t want to. She hesitated for a moment, then subtly shook her head. Ed huffed a bit, but he let himself sink down to sit on the floor, opening the book he’d picked with one more slightly questioning glance in her direction, easily becoming engrossed in the material. Al nodded at her before heading off in the opposite direction to gather a few more books.

“Of course, sir,” she said, stepping away from her shelf.

Mustang gave her an approving look. “Boys, I’m going to head back to HQ after speaking with Rebecca. I’ll send someone by later to get you.”

No response.

“They’ve certainly got quite a lot of focus, don’t they?” Tucker asked.

Despite her unfounded dislike of Tucker, Becca couldn’t help but roll her eyes and respond, “You have no idea.”

“Some might even say you’ve gotten your hands on some prodigies, Colonel Mustang.” He turned to Becca and gave her a strange smile. “All three of you.”

\---

Fresh air filled her lungs as Becca trailed after Mustang out of the Tucker estate. She stretched her arms up above her head, not having realized how tense she’d become.

“You didn’t like him,” Mustang said, more of a statement than a question.

Becca shrugged. “Doesn’t really matter what I think of him. His research could be helpful. We need to look into it.” She set her jaw and prodded, “But don’t force small talk with me, I’m not one of your nightly dates. Just get to the point.”

He sighed, looking a bit exasperated with her, but moved on. “Have you been able to keep up with your finances?” he asked after a moment. “You haven’t been stretched for funds?”

She looked away. “Yeah. My normal ratio has been fine. It’s always fine.”

“And have you heard from… your mother recently?”

“Why are you tiptoeing around me?” Becca said tiredly. “That’s suspiciously uncharacteristic.”

Mustang hesitated, apparently wrestling with something internally until he admitted, “We’ve had some sightings of your brother in the city since you three have been hanging around here more. I was thinking about sending you home for the time being-”

“What?” she demanded. “No way!”

“Becca-”

“No, I-”  _ Maybe ‘I have to help hunt down my homicidal half-brother’ isn’t the best route for this conversation. _ “I have to help Ed and Al with Tucker’s research-”

“Well you wouldn’t be doing nothing,” Mustang defended. “Your father’s library is still there, you could easily attempt some codebreaking there, just until we capture him. It wouldn’t be forever, just a temporary reassignment with some military personnel there to watch over you.”

Becca shook her head fervently. “My mother doesn’t want me there. I don’t want to be there. I’m not going.”

“Rebecca, I thought you would be reasonable about this. There’s a reason I wanted to discuss it alone.”

“At least if I’m here, I have Ed and Al, I can fight  _ with _ them, I don’t need MPs babysitting me-”

He rolled his eyes. “Ah, yes, how could I not trust you three to take him down after you all got your asses kicked last time.” He leveled his stern eyes at her, challenging, “Right now, this is a request from me. Do  _ not _ make me make it an order from your commanding officer.”

She clenched her jaw, wavering a bit at the underlying threat. “Please, sir. I need to be  _ here _ . Especially if Will is around.”  _ I need to talk to him, _ she thought.  _ I can get through to him. _

It was a battle of wills that Becca finally won. The colonel huffed, looking frustrated, but amended, “Fine. You can stay-”

She brightened immediately, unable to stop herself from grinning. She caught herself and coughed, then stepped back. “Er- thank you-” She nodded quickly. “Sir.”

“-But,” he continued firmly, “You are not to seek him out or engage with him. Any of you. Can you give me your word that you won’t?”

“Yes, sir, I promise,” she lied.  _ Like hell. I  _ promised _ to bring him home. _

Mustang gave her an appraising look, but seemed to believe the fib and relented. “Alright.” He turned, opening the car door, then, not looking at her, asked, “Have you told Edward and Alphonse about the conditions of your debt yet?” Any affection for the colonel that had flared up after he’d allowed her to stay was immediately quashed and Becca frowned. She shook her head, forgetting that Mustang couldn’t see her. Her silence, however, was enough of an answer for him. She could hear the smirk in his voice when he said, “You know my thoughts on the subject. Your teammates should be aware-”

“-Of every possibility,” Becca finished in unison with him. “You’re right, I do know. However,” she said emphatically, “it’s not a possibility. It’s not even in the stratosphere of possibility.”

The car revved to life and Mustang slammed the door, rolling the window down to talk to her. “Of course not,” he said, looking doubtful. 

She blinked, looking down at the gutter. “Is Hawkeye going to think that you’re taking too long?” she said quietly.

Mustang checked his watch and swore. “Stay alert, Illusion,” he ordered, rolling the window up.

She raised a hand in farewell as the car peeled away into traffic, groaned, and put her head in her hands for a few moments. Then she took a deep breath, pulled herself together, and turned back to the huge house, which had somehow become even more oppressive after a bit of air. Thankfully, she made it back to the boys without running into Tucker. She kept her head down in the lab, only barely glancing around once she got to the library. She waved at Al and gently nudged Ed with her toe as she passed him to get to the shelf she’d claimed earlier. Strangely, whenever she reached for the handwritten book she’d noticed earlier,  _ Deconstruction and Combination _ , it was gone. Her lips twisted into a displeased grimace.

_ Mr. Tucker is probably just using it somewhere else, _ she rationalized.

But the nagging feeling was back. 

And she couldn’t see it going away until they were out of the estate for good.

\---

A few silent hours passed, interrupted by the occasional thump of a book being put down and the scratch notes being taken. Becca had taken up residence in one corner and she hadn’t seen either Elric since she’d walked in, but she figured they’d each staked out their own territories nearby. Sitting up against a bookshelf, she’d read through all the books within her immediate reach, so she was in the process of hauling herself to her feet to peruse the upper shelves when she heard the familiar creaking of Alphonse’s metal joints, along with children’s laughter. She peered curiously around the bookshelf and felt a small smile flit onto her face.

Al had obviously decided to take a study break. He and the little girl, Nina, if Becca remembered correctly, were crawling around on the floor, chasing one another around a large rug. Becca knew that Al was 14, only a few months younger than her, of course, but he rarely looked like it. His large size combined with his general maturity (especially compared to his big brother) made him seem older and yet, right now, she could practically see a young blonde boy playing with Nina. She came around the corner, but didn’t interrupt, content to just lean against the shelf with her arms wrapped around herself and just observe, at least until Al noticed her standing there and yelped, “Becca!”

“Hey,” she greeted teasingly, chuckling at his guilty sounding tone. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to tattle. Mind if I join you?”

The little girl grinned. “You wanna play too?”

Becca pushed off the shelf, stretching her arms over her head. She felt a few pops in her spine and winced. “Definitely. Let me go put a bookmark in my notes and I’ll be right back.”

Back at her study space, she ripped a spare piece of paper for a makeshift bookmark and took a few minutes to restack the piles she’d organized- a tiny stack general notes, a few possibly useful books, books to hand off to one of the boys when they got a chance, and a much large stack of books to put away- then bit her lip and figured she might as well clean up now. She was in the middle of clearing away the rejects, listening to Nina’s giggles and Al’s playful encouragement, when she heard Ed sputtering.

“Alphonse!” he was saying as she finished putting the books away. “What are you doing?! You’re supposed to be researching!”

Becca noticed the door slowly opening wider, then the large white dog who had crushed Ed earlier sniffed down the aisle in search of his mistress. He paused, ears perking up, when he heard Ed’s voice. Becca had to smother a giggle as the dog lowered himself to the ground, wiggling his tail and growling playfully.

“Nina wanted to play,” Al said defensively.

“We didn’t come here to play! At least Becca is-” The dog leaped forward, squishing Ed once again with ease. “Gah!”

“Aw, Alexander wants to play with you!” Nina cooed.

Becca couldn’t hold in a laugh at that. “Yeah, Ed, you’re just about the size of one of his chew toys.”

“Becca!” he said, his face going red. Alexander licked Ed’s cowlick, which only served to infuriate him more. “Alright, alright, dog, you’ve bested me twice…” he snarled, shoving Alexander off of him. He continued to pant away happily as Ed pointed a finger at him. “I will not lose again! I, Edward Elric,  _ will _ defeat you!”

Alexander barked happily, his claws skittering over the floor as he made a run for it, pursued by Ed, screaming a war cry, leaving Nina, Al, and Becca to laugh at him.

“You mangy mutt!”

\---

Ed chased Alexander for the better part of an hour, but, by the time Havoc arrived to pick them up, he had yet to be able to pin him down. In fact, Alexander was more successful, the afternoon ultimately ending with both he and Nina sitting on Ed’s back. Becca and Al had instead chosen to have a small, tea-party lunch with Nina, then packed up the depressingly few notes they’d decided they wanted to take with them, so they, at least, were ready to go.

“So how’s your research going, chief?” Havoc asked, eyebrows raised.

“We’ve been taking a brief break,” Ed grumbled as he got to his feet.

“You’ve been locked up in here all day,” Tucker pointed out. “Have you found anything useful?” All three of their postures sagged and Tucker smiled sympathetically. “Why don’t you come back tomorrow?”

“You’ll all come back tomorrow?” Nina asked excitedly.

“Yeah, and we can play some more then, okay?” Becca said, offering the little girl a high five, though she held it up too high for her to reach for a few moments and let her jump a few times before lowering her hand with a laugh.

“Yay!” Nina cheered, throwing her arms around Becca’s legs. Becca’s eyes widened as she patted the top of Nina’s head, mentally begging Al for help.

Al snickered, then gently pried her off. “We’ll see you tomorrow, Nina.”

Havoc herded them out the door into the bright afternoon. Nina climbed on top of Alexander and waved at them until they’d loaded into the car. Havoc called something to Tucker over his shoulder, but Becca couldn’t hear him over Ed already planning where they’d be going for dinner. Becca settled into the passenger seat, tossing in her own opinions as Havoc started the car and threw in a few jabs at her and Ed’s meal choices, making both of them squawk indignantly as he pulled away from the estate.

\---

That night, they’d decided, collaborating might prove to be a bit more helpful. As such, the next morning found all three of them sitting among piles of books and journals, Becca draped on Ed, her back to his shoulder and the top of her head leaned back into the crook of his neck, a book held up so she could lazily flick through the pages of an old journal, while he was resting his chin on his hand as he read. Al was sitting cross legged nearby, and even Nina had deigned to join them, resting on top of Alexander as she traced her fingers through his fur.

“So you mother left two years ago?” Al asked, sounding confused as to how a mother could do something like that. “Just… up and went?”

“Daddy says she went to go live at her mommy and daddy’s house,” Nina explained, shrugging.

Becca frowned. At least when he mother was absent, she had Louisa and Will to lean on. “Are you… lonely, all by yourself? Just you and your dad in this big house?”

Nina hummed thoughtfully and answered, “Not really. Daddy’s nice, and he takes care of me, and I can play with Alexander!” She giggled, burying her head in Alexander’s neck. Becca smiled softly, but then the little girl suddenly became much more somber, poking just her eyes over Alexander’s body to peek at them. “Lately… Daddy’s been spending more time studying in his lab for his big test coming up. So I guess I have been a little lonely.”

Becca felt Ed tense up under her, and she couldn’t help but wince in sympathy. She’d been eleven when she was left to her own devices. She couldn’t imagine being so little with only a dog for company. And she didn’t know much about Ed’s father- just that he was absent as well as being an advanced alchemist- but she’d be willing to bet he was making similar connections.

“You know what?” he said, standing up slowly. Becca sat up as well and pulled her knees into her chest, looking up at him. He stretched. “My shoulders are so stiff from sitting here all morning.”

“Maybe you should move around some, Brother,” Al suggested.

Ed swivelled his automail arm around in its port. “That’s not a bad idea.” He gestured to Alexander, getting his attention easily. “Come here, mutt. We’re going to go exercise for real this time.”

“You wanna go too, Becca?” Al asked. “We’ve been cooped up inside for the last two days now, so we might as well get some sun.”

“Sure,” Becca agreed, picking up the book she had been trying to get through and offering a hand to Nina. “I’ve been so unfocused today, so it can’t exactly hurt my concentration.”

Nina giggled, grasping Becca’s hand as they all trotted outside, where Ed quickly tossed a stick for Alexander to fetch. However, the dog didn’t seem as interested in the game as he was in terrorizing Ed, and the chase from the day before commenced again. This time, Nina joined in, first running after Alexander as fast as her legs would carry her, and then, when that got too tiring, she climbed onto his back to trail behind Ed. Al and Becca, on the other hand, settled under a tree and Becca opened her book to try and finish the passage she’d been reading, but that peace didn’t last long. It only took a few moments for Ed to transmute his arm into a clawed grabber and flip the chasing around. Becca gasped, putting a hand on her temple.

“God, Ed, please don’t injure the child,” she called.

Ed rolled his eyes, snapping his makeshift weapon at her as he ran past, still laughing with Nina. “I’m gonna catch you!” he taunted, grinning wildly.

Nina jumped from Alexander’s back onto Al’s to escape, scrambling up his arm to his shoulder and sliding down his back and into Becca’s lap, leaving Alexander to turn and jump on top of Ed again. While Al went to rescue Ed, Nina pulled Becca over to a bush covered in white baby’s-breath, tugging her to sit down next to her. “Do you know how to make a flower crown?” she asked innocently.

“No, I never learned,” Becca said, “Do you?”

She nodded eagerly. Becca smiled.

“Can you teach me?”

And so they sat, weaving the little flowers until they had made five crowns of varying sizes. It had taken Becca little while to get the hang of it and hers were noticeably not different from those made by the five year old, but Nina seemed pleased with them just the same and dragged both boys and Alexander over so she could place them on their heads with a small fanfare, pronouncing each of them a prince or princess, and then herself the queen.

The large door creaked open, making all of them look over, Becca’s crown falling over her eyes as she did. She pushed it out of her face to see Shou Tucker, looking exhausted, but smiling the same off-putting smile he often did. Nina cried out delightedly and ran to embrace him.

“It’s good to hear people playing here again,” he said wistfully. “My wife used to keep it lively around here, and now it gets too quiet…”

“It’s no trouble,” Al assured.

“Still,” Tucker said, brushing a hand over Nina’s head. “You’re here for your own work and you’re playing with my daughter. You should stay later tonight. I’ll make dinner with Nina and you three can do a bit more research before we eat.”

Becca glanced at the Elrics. Ed shrugged back and responded, “Alright. Thank you, sir.”

They headed back to the library, managing to take a few more notes before Tucker called them out to eat. That day, the uneasy feeling in Becca’s stomach hadn’t flared up until the moment they were sitting down. Thankfully, Nina sat next to her father, and Al next to her, so she could sit between Ed and Al.

As Becca and Ed dug in, Al tried to keep an easy conversation going. “So Nina mentioned you’ve been getting ready for your assessment,” Al said conversationally. “How are your preparations coming along?”

Tucker paused. “Well… obviously I’m a bit nervous, considering my result last year… it’s important for me to do well.” He looked over at Nina, fully absorbed into her meal. “Before I got certified, our lives were horrible. We used to be so poor, and my wife just couldn’t handle it, so she left us. I- I can’t go back to those days.”

Becca frowned, her fork halfway to her mouth.  _ I? _ she wondered.  _ Shouldn’t he use we? _ She looked to the brother again to see if either of them had noticed the slip up, but they all got distracted by Nina’s upbeat voice. “Don’t worry, Daddy! If they tell you no, Alexander and I will just growl at them until they yes!”

Al chuckled warmly. “You tell ‘em, Nina.”

“Yes, of course,” Tucker said quietly. “Thank you, dear.” He perked up, smiling slightly. “Hey, Nina. How about we play together tomorrow? I’ll take a day off of working, okay?”

Her eyes lit up. “Really?” Tucker nodded, and she squealed. “Yay! Alexander, we get to play with Daddy tomorrow!”

Alexander, laying at the foot of Nina’s chair, barked excitedly. Becca forced an encouraging smile and took a quick look outside the window at the city bathed in the orange light of the setting sun, then checked her pocket watch.

“Boys,” she said gently. “I hate to interrupt, but it might be time for us to clean up the library and head back to the barracks.”

Ed leaned over, checking her watch as well, and sighed. “Becca’s right. Can we still come tomorrow?”

“Of course,” Tucker affirmed. “You three are always welcome.”

Becca shot him a tight smile across the table, pushing her chair away. “Thank you for your hospitality.” She stood, followed by the boys. “We’ll see you then.” They made their way to the front door and Becca tilted her head back as they stepped outside. She hummed upon seeing a gray mass of clouds coming over the horizon. “I wonder if it’s going to rain tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you and your loved ones are staying safe and healthy, and i'll see you in the next update! -c


	9. lachesism

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey hey hey my dears!
> 
> look who's actually early! i need to stay on a schedule, so i'm not early in terms of days but i'm not putting the finishing touches on this chapter at like 11:45 at night for once. i honestly have just been super hyped for the next chapter! it's gonna be a whopper, but i got a head start and i'm so excited about it that i'm hoping that will motivate me to finish it on time.
> 
> but anyway here the sad chapter... i'm glad to be done with it tbh because like i said last chapter i hate kid stuff. it just makes me sad :(, but i hope i did a good job portraying it and that nothing is too ooc.
> 
> lachesism (noun)- desire to be struck by disaster—to survive a plane crash, to lose everything in a fire, to plunge over a waterfall—which would put a kink in the smooth arc of your life

“Hey, Bex, I just remembered, I wanted to ask about what Colonel Smartass wanted the other day,” Ed said over breakfast.

Taken aback, Becca tried to talk too quickly, subsequently choking and almost coughing up her mouthful of bagel. Ed and Al both gave shouts of alarm as she sputtered, but she waved them off as she finally managed to clear her throat. “Sorry, sorry, I just-” She gave one final cough, then took a deep breath. “I can’t believe I forgot to tell you, listen to this-” Mustang was right about some things; Ed and Al needed to know if there was a possibility of running into Will. “He said that my brother has apparently been back in town.”

“What?”

“ _ And _ he wanted to send me home until they apprehended him,” she continued, eager to share Mustang’s wild idea.

“ _ What? _ ”

“But you’re still here,” Al said, confused.

“I refused to go,” Becca clarified. “I’m busy helping you guys, obviously, and I want to help with the search if another sighting comes in.”

“Like hell we’d let him send you back there alone,” Ed said, shaking his head. “And he actually thought you’d be safer there?” he asked after a few minutes of disbelieving silence.

“Exactly! I told him, at least here, I’m able to fight with you guys instead of trying to hold my own with a bunch of MPs I’ve never spoken to,” she said. “At that point, I’d basically be by myself if he followed me.” She paused. “Although… Mustang did make me promise to not look for him-” Both brothers made noises of protest and Becca was quick to reassure them, “-and I won’t. I won’t  _ intentionally _ try to find him. But if he comes after me, I’m not running. I promised Victor and Louisa that I would bring him home. I can’t imagine going home until I’ve at least tried.” She looked over at them, a pleading look in her eyes. “Will you guys help me? If it comes down to it?”

“Of course we will,” Al said earnestly.

“And we can actually fight together this time instead of arguing,” Ed joked.

Becca smiled, chuckling a bit. “Yeah. Maybe we’ll be a little more successful.” She took a long sip of tea and leaned back into her chair as Ed gave her a cheeky grin and dug back into his breakfast. “So what’s the plan for today?”

“What do you mean?” Ed said, mouth full. “We’re going back to the Tuckers.”

She bit her lip doubtfully. “Well, I just meant- you know, Mr. Tucker said he’d be spending the day with Nina. I wouldn’t want to get in the way.”

“Mr. Tucker said we could come,” Al weighed in. “And we’d just be in the library all day.”  
“And,” Ed pointed out, “as much as I think we needed the break yesterday, we should take advantage of Nina being busy. We can actually stay focused.”

Although she would gladly take as much time away from the oppressive Tucker estate as was offered, nothing had happened to warrant not going to utilize the extensive library while they could until Mustang sent them out again. She hummed. “I guess you’re right…”

Ed pushed his chair away from the table, followed by Al. “You know it,” he said playfully as he put his plates in the sink for one of them to do when they got back later.

“Give me a second to grab my coat and we can go,” Becca said, pouring the remainder of the tea from her mug and the larger kettle into her flask and standing up as well.

“We’ll get the notes,” Al suggested. 

She nodded and all three of them spread out over the room to collect their things. Becca retrieved her cropped jacket, then crouched to retie her boot and caught sight of her suitcase- or more specifically folded envelope sticking out of the side pocket. It wasn’t like she’d forgotten about the letter since Victor had given her; how could she? Long train rides tended to allow one’s mind to wander, and, sometimes, she couldn’t help herself from thinking about Will. What she would say if she saw him again, what she would do, how she would react. But it hadn’t really seemed like a genuine possibility until now. Subconsciously, she thought, she’d assumed that Will would disappear again. A couple of times, she’d doubted that he’d come back at all. It was only the scar at the base of her throat that proved to her that she hadn’t imagined their last encounter.

Mind made up, she tucked the letter into one of her breast pockets before straightening up.  _ Just in case, _ she told herself.

“Ready?” Ed asked.

Becca nodded, opening the door for the other two. They managed to make it out of the barracks without having to talk to anyone. Even the soldier at the check in desk was busy flirting with a young delivery girl, barely sparing them a glance as they hustled through the lobby and into the misty morning.

“It stormed last night,” Al observed, stepping in a small puddle left on the ground. “I was surprised you two could both sleep through it. Especially you, Brother. Becca’s used to sleeping through your snoring.” He nudged Ed pointedly, who glared up at him.

Becca laughed at the jab. Ed didn’t usually snore and she and Al knew it from the many nights they had spent awake, chatting long past when Ed had gone to sleep, but it had become a joke between them that Ed wasn’t able to disprove. She craned her head up to the sky and wondered aloud, “Do you think there’ll be any more rain?”

“It’s still cloudy, but I guess it could pass,” Al supposed.

Ed kicked one of the puddles, then smiled widely and leaped forward, landing in a bigger one and splashing both Becca and Al. Becca gasped instinctively at the cold water hitting the shins of her pants and she raised an eyebrow in Ed’s direction. He grinned, spreading his arms challengingly. She cocked her head and said, “Oh, you’re on.”

She jumped forward into a different puddle, soaking Ed’s ankles. He jumped over to her puddle and forced her to skip backwards to avoid the water. Even Al joined in by kicking a large wave of rain water at both of them. Laughter filled the quiet morning as they bounded between puddles, sloshing around as their shoes and the bottoms of their clothes got steadily more soaked, and they moved steadily closer to the Tucker house. For the first time since they’d started going, Becca was too busy enjoying the moment to focus on the dread that had taken up residence in her stomach.

As the trio leaped and dodged each other in the central square of the city, Becca and Ed jumped into the same puddle and wound up nearly nose to nose. They both froze. Their chests heaved and Becca noticed a faint flush of red on Ed’s cheeks. She was sure there was a matching blush on her own face from the exertion. The moment was shattered when Ed chuckled and shoved Becca backwards by her right shoulder. She laughed, stumbling until she caught her balance, and raised her hand in surrender.

“Alright,” she said, still giggling. “You win.”

He grinned pompously, arm sweeping out into a dramatic bow. “As you should have expected, since I am-”

Ed’s grandiose victory speech was cut off by Al swatting him from behind and knocking him face-first into the puddle he’d claimed. He sputtered angrily as Becca burst into another round of giggles.

“Alphonse!” he squawked.

“I won again, Brother!” Al said innocently.

Ed grumbled as he got to his feet, but was quick to flick water off of his face and out of his hair. “Yeah, yeah, okay.” He wagged his finger up at Al, matter of factly stating, “I let you have that one.”

“Sure, Brother,”Al said. Becca could practically hear the eye roll in his voice, which brought up a whole new cycle of bickering from Ed as they kept on their way towards the Tuckers’ house.

Without the excitement pumping through her veins, however, it wasn’t long until the normal heavy feeling was making Becca want to drag her feet. She couldn’t do so unless she wanted to risk getting left behind, since the Elrics were deep enough in conversation that they might not notice, so she busied herself with trying to rationalize whatever gave her such an irrational urge to bolt in the opposite direction. She couldn’t, even as they approached the darkened front door.

It was obvious they were expected since the door was closed, but unlocked. Inside, on the other hand, felt almost abandoned. The front hallway was dark, and, from what Becca could see as they slowly entered, so were the rest of the rooms. And it was silent. Too silent. It was late enough in the morning that Nina should be awake and chattering away nonstop like she had been throughout the last two days, but they couldn’t hear her voice, nor her or Alexander’s footsteps, or any sign of Tucker either, for that matter.

“Good morning, Mr. Tucker!” Al called, his voice echoing through the home. “Thank you for having us again!” As they walked further in, he tried again. “Mr. Tucker?”

Ed flicked the light switch on. “Nina? You here?” he called. No response. He hummed. “Let’s see if Tucker is in the lab-”

“No!” Becca interrupted, then coughed. She could not- no, would not go back into that lab unless there were no other options. “I- I mean, Tucker said they’d play today, I doubt he’d want Nina playing in his lab. Maybe they’re upstairs?” she suggested weakly.

“Let’s go check,” Al said.

The stairs creaked as they ventured onto the upper floor. Becca was on high alert, her head swivelling at every sound their feet made on the old floorboards, and her eyes flitted around the dark hallway. Al turned the light on this time, illuminating the shadowy hall.

“We’ll go this way,” Ed said, thumbing to the right. “You look down there.”

“I-” Becca considered arguing, not wanting to be alone, but figured she’d already objected to checking the lab and this wasn’t worth risking an actual fight. “Okay.”

“See you in a few minutes,” Al said over his shoulder as they walked down the opposite side of the hallway.

Becca waved, then glanced back at the three doors she had to check. “Okay,” she said again, more to herself than anyone else. “This is fine. Everything is fine. You’re just freaking out over nothing, this is just a misunderstanding on your end-” She continued to babble to herself as she revealed an empty study and an empty bathroom, then approached the final door. Her breath caught upon seeing the small sign taped onto it:  _ Nina + Alexander _ written in childlike handwriting in rainbow crayon. “Mmmm… I hate this, I hate this,” Becca mumbled, steeling herself. Given that Ed and Al hadn’t shouted for her, this was the last place she could be before they’d be forced to check in that horrible lab. She gingerly reached out and turned the knob, letting a little bit of light into the dark room. She knew there wouldn’t be an answer, but she still called out for, “Nina? Mr. Tucker? Alexander?”

She pushed the door open wider, revealing another empty room and took in the little bedroom, a little melancholy. The bed was messy, a pink blanket thrown haphazardly over pale blue sheets, and toys were strewn about the room. A large folded blanket sat near the bed, covered in dog hair. Hairbands and play jewelry spilled out of a box on the dresser. Becca ran her hand over the top of the dresser absentmindedly until she hit a picture frame. Startled, she drew back, only to sigh, shake her head, and pick up the photo to examine it. In a handmade wooden frame, there was a picture of Mr. Tucker, Nina, Alexander, all looking significantly younger, and a woman who Becca assumed was Nina’s mother with a large, brown dog. Despite herself, Becca smiled softly. Nina looked so tiny, and Alexander was merely a puppy. Even Tucker looked happier, more energetic than she’d seen him. The woman smiled brightly, playfully squishing Nina’s cheeks as she held her, the little girl’s face frozen in a permanent laugh. Becca’s smile faltered a bit.  _ This _ was when Tucker said they were so desperately poor that Nina’s mother left them? The woman in the picture looked overjoyed. She did  _ not _ look like she would abandon the child in her arms.

_ Something is off here, _ Becca thought, the foreboding feeling swelling once more.  _ Someone is lying. _

She set the picture down and set her jaw. Suspicion revived, Becca strode out of the bedroom, only pausing to close Nina’s door gently behind her. Ed and Al looked up from the middle of the hallway. Just by their body language, she could tell they hadn’t found anything either.

“That just leaves the lab, doesn’t it?” she asked quietly. They nodded. She sighed. “Okay.”

\---

The laboratory door was left ajar- of course it was- but there wasn’t even a light on inside. Ed gave the door a shove and light from the hallway spilled in. Two figures were crouched on the ground.

“Mr. Tucker,” Al said, sounding relieved.

“You’re home after all,” Ed observed.

Tucker turned to face them, but his movements were too smooth, almost trancelike. Any normal person would have been spooked enough to at least flinch when they first spoke, or maybe even when they first opened the door. “Oh, hello, you three,” he greeted.

Leaning against the doorframe, Becca narrowed her eyes to try and make out the smaller figure on the floor. She felt her stomach lurch. “Is that-?”

“I did it,” Tucker said dreamily. “I finally replicated my original experiment.” He stood up, gesturing them forward, closer to the creature. “It’s a chimera that can speak, come see.”

Ed eagerly stepped forward, with Al close behind, but Becca stayed back, only barely passing the threshold as Tucker bent down to the chimera’s level.

“Listen to me,” he said in a soft but stern voice. He pointed up at Ed and introduced, “That person is Edward,” then to Al, “and Alphonse,” and, finally, he pointed through their legs towards Becca, “and that’s Rebecca.” The creature moved slowly, bending its neck to get a good look at Becca and exposing it’s pale white eyes. A chill went down Becca’s spine as it turned back to Tucker for further instructions. “Repeat those,” Tucker requested.

“Ed…ward,” the chimera mumbled, not looking away from its creator. “Al...phonse. Rebec...ca,” it sounded out.

At the sound of its voice, Ed and Al started to look a bit uneasy as well, and Becca actually felt bile rise in her throat, although Tucker was quick to pat the chimera on the head and praise, “Yes, well done. That was very good.”

“Wow… it can actually… talk,” Ed said, somewhere between awe and fear. He bent down to the creature’s level as well, extending a hand towards its dog-like nose for it to sniff.

“Yes,” Tucker said, clearly pleased. “And I finished just in time. I’m not going to lose my certification.”

The chimera appeared stirred by Ed’s scent, as that started off another round of unsettling, halting repetition. “Ed...ward, Ed...ward,” it said, then, horrifyingly, “Brother… Ed...ward… Big Brother… Ed.”

She heard Ed gasp from where he’d knelt on the floor.

_ He didn’t mention anything about brothers, _ Becca thought, taking a shaky breath in as well,  _ How the hell does it know he’s- _

“Mr. Tucker,” Ed said suddenly, “when was it that you first got your state certification?”

“I was first certified… two years ago,” Tucker replied. “Why do you ask?”

“And when was it that your wife left?” Ed continued, ignoring his question.

A moment of silence, followed by a reluctant, “That was two years ago too.”

Becca practically felt her heart drop into her gut as she realized the truth. The walk-out mother who looked like anything but in the photo, the timing, how Tucker had seemingly forgotten that he needed his State Alchemist position to take care of his daughter and not just keep living in a mansion during dinner the day before, all the bad feelings Becca had had since arriving, hell, even the other dog in the picture in Nina’s bedroom. It would be so easy to tell her that her mother who’d abandoned her had taken one of the dogs with her. Why did it take her this long to understand?

“Lastly,” Ed said, cutting off her train of thought, his voice quivering in rage. “Where are Nina and Alexander?”

Al’s eyes flew towards Tucker as comprehension hit him as well.

“I do  _ hate _ perceptive brats like you,” Tucker growled threateningly. And all too suddenly, the world was moving slowly and he was lunging at her, arm outstretched- 

Intuition took over Becca’s body as she lurched away from Tucker, but there didn’t seem to be a need since Ed met him halfway and easily overpowered him, no doubt fueled by rapidly blooming anger and hatred alongside a rush of adrenaline. Before she could blink, Ed had Tucker up against the wall, arm against his throat, and the man had the audacity to still look defiant. The chimera- no,  _ Nina and Alexander _ \- had gotten to their feet, haunches raised.

“Brother!” Al protested, his hand going to rest on Nina and Alexander’s head, clearly trying to calm them down. Becca, as much as she wanted to move, was frozen in shock, her eyes wide and trained on Ed and Tucker and her breathing heavy as she desperately tried to snap herself out of it.

“Of course I figured it out!” Ed said heatedly. “It makes sense! You did it! Why bother trying to teach two animals to speak? There’s only so much you can do with them after all! It’s much easier to start with one that already can, is that right?” He pressed down harder on Tucker’s throat. “First you used your wife, two years ago, and now it’s your own daughter and her dog!  _ That’s _ your secret for talking chimeras!”

Tucker smiled and was disgustingly earnest as he choked out, “I don’t see what you’re getting so upset over. This is how we as a species must move forward in every field! Human experimentation is always a necessary step- the final step!  _ That’s _ progression!  _ That’s _ mankind’s secret- what we have above all other animals! A scientist should understand-”

“No!” Ed snapped. “You won’t get away with something like this- messing around with someone’s life like this! And your own daughter!” he repeated, then demanded, “How dare you?”

“How dare I mess with a person's life?” Tucker rebutted, casting his manic eyes around the room. “You’d know all about that, wouldn’t you? Look at your little team, Fullmetal Alchemist,” he said mockingly. “Your arm and leg, your brother’s body, Rebecca’s father- you’ve all messed with people’s lives, haven’t you?”

“Shut up!” Ed landed a solid punch with his metal fist. Becca swore she heard a crack as Tucker’s glasses flew across the lab, landing near her feet. She forced herself to look down, only to see Ed's furious visage reflected in the glass alongside Tucker’s scratched and quickly bruising one.

“We’re the same, you and me!” Tucker shouted, undeterred by the blood dripping out of his nose. “You’re just like me!”

“We are not like you!” Ed insisted desperately, trembling.

“Oh, but we are. We knew we shouldn’t but the possibility was right there in front of us- we had to try it, we had to try it, even though we knew it was forbidden! Taboo!”

“No!” Ed interrupted, hitting him again. “Not me!” Again. “Not my brother!” Again. “Not Becca!” Again. “Alchemists don’t-!” Again. “Do that-!” Again. Becca winced as she heard and saw at each hit even though Tucker took every single one with barely a sound. She could see Ed unravelling. “I’m not… we’re not… we didn’t-” 

He raised his arm once more, only for it to be caught by Al’s armored gauntlet. “Brother, stop!”

The room went silent except for everyone’s heavy breathing.

“If you keep this up, he’ll die,” Al said quietly. And wasn’t that a grim thought? Tucker had truly gotten under Ed’s skin. She knew he was powerful and he could be intimidating, she’d seen those in action time and time again, but she’d never seen him unstable like this. It was… scary. And she didn’t like seeing her best friend as scary. In fact, she hated it, because she knew it wasn’t who he was. Her Ed would never kill someone, would never even come close if he could help it. But the pure loathing rolling off of him towards Tucker was blinding him. She half thought he was going to fight Al, try to wrestle out of his grip, and she tried to force her feet to move to intercept him if that became the case, knowing that Ed would hate himself once the deed had already been done if he got the chance, until-

Soft footsteps padded over the floor and Nina and Alexander sat down at Tucker’s feet, looking imploringly up at Ed.

“Ed...ward,” they said sorrowfully. “Ed...ward… no hit… Daddy… Daddy… hurt?”

Ed jolted, every muscle in his body visibly tightening before he released his grip, which had shifted from an arm against Tucker’s throat to a fist curled on his collar. The anger drained out of him, replaced by desolation. Finger by finger, he let him go, and Tucker collapsed motionlessly to the ground, his quick breaths the only sign he was still alive. Becca couldn’t help but feel a sick sense of vindication, at least until Nina and Alexander shuffled forward once more, nosing at Tucker’s limp hand.

“Daddy…” they called out once more. “Daddy…”

“Al,” Ed said, suddenly sounding exhausted. “Will you- will you take them out of here? Just out into the hall? Maybe if they can’t see him, they’ll-”

_ They’ll forget him. They’ll stop asking for him _ went unspoken, but understood between them all.

“Yeah,” Al said. He bent down and gently scooped Nina and Alexander up, careful to put his body between them and Tucker. “We’ll be outside.” He gave Ed a hard look. “Be careful, Brother.”

“I will,” Ed said softly.

Becca, still frozen with her eyes trained on the glasses, heard Ed’s heavy footsteps coming towards her, but they didn’t fully register until he put a hand on her shoulder. Even then, she hardly moved to acknowledge him. His flesh hand drifted, tracing from her shoulder down her arm until he could take her hand. “Come on, Bex. We- we have to call the colonel. Then we can go back to the dorm.”

She squeezed his hand tightly as Tucker suddenly moved, putting both of them in attack mode again, though he just reached for his pocket. He drew out his silver pocket watch, cradling it in outstretched hands.

”I made it before the deadline, just in time,” he murmured to himself, smiling like a child gazing down at a beloved toy. “I’ll still be a State Alchemist.”

A hot spike of rage shot through Becca’s body as she realized that could have easily been her. If her father had studied a different field of alchemy, who was to say he wouldn’t have used her in more experiments? She  _ wasn’t _ like Tucker. She was like Nina- another young girl used by her father who only wanted to regain his power and esteem. She stormed forward, kicking Tucker’s cupped hands and sending his watch flying towards the door. She heard it pop open, but ignored it.

“Like hell you’ll still be a State Alchemist!” she snarled, crowding him, blocking him from crawling towards his watch no matter how much he wanted to. “Like hell you’ll keep your damn title, or your damn house, or your damn status! Like hell!” Now that she’d found her voice, she didn’t think she could stop. “People aren’t just pieces in your little game! People aren’t just here for you to use them and discard them when you’re done with them! You were her father, you were supposed to love that little girl! You were supposed to put her life above yours!” She stepped backwards, crushing the watch’s face and inner workings under her boot. Tucker made a pained noise that only incensed her more. She kicked the pieces towards him, watching him scramble around to pick them up. “Think about what you did! To your wife-”  _ Louisa, _ “to your daughter-”  _ her, _ “and to yourself! Your legacy is ruined and it’s all your own fault!”  _ Her father. _ “Think about that!”

Her breaths had quickened and become shallow. She felt a tug on her hand. Ed didn’t tell her to stop, but she knew she needed to get out. It was time for them to leave.

Leaving Tucker on the ground, she let Ed lead her out into the hallway. Al had crouched down, head bowed, as Nina and Alexander kept asking, “Play… now? Play… now?”

Just like Ed earlier, every drop of anything other than despair ceased inside of Becca. Vomit rose in her throat once more, and this time she couldn’t stop it. She was quick to drop Ed’s hand and rush to a nearby bathroom. She slammed the door behind her and hit her knees, heaving and retching as her stomach emptied itself into the toilet. Tears pricked at her eyes as she lay there on the floor, mind blank, for a few moments, but she wiped them away as she got to her feet. Staring at herself in the mirror, she sniffed, frantically rubbing at her red rimmed eyes. Nina and Alexander were the ones with the reason to cry. How could she even think about crying now? What right did she have to even think about it?

She heard someone knock on the door and Ed’s gloomy voice. “Bex? Are you okay?” After a few seconds where she didn’t respond, he added, “I called Mustang. He’s on his way with the team.”

“Yeah,” Becca croaked. “I’m- I’m coming.” She opened the bathroom door, but lowered her head rather than meet Ed’s eyes or see Nina and Alexander and Al where they all sat on the floor. “We shouldn’t leave them alone,” she said.

“No,” Ed agreed. “We can sit here and wait.”

Becca only managed to take a few steps before she had to lean against the wall and eventually slid down to rest her forehead against Nina and Alexander’s back. Al was already apologizing to them, and Becca couldn’t find the words to make anything better. Instead, she just pet their fur, hiding her face, and forcing herself to take breath after breath. Taking herself moment by moment until help arrived.

\---

As much as she and Ed jabbed at Mustang, Becca thought he was a competent enough leader. She knew he was smart, knew he was calculating, knew he could be cold, but not like this. She leaned against the outside wall of Eastern HQ, stoically watching over the Elrics, crumpled on the top step and listening to the conversation between Hawkeye and Mustang growing louder as they approached the entryway, the door left propped open from the rush to Tucker’s estate.

“If there ever was devil’s work in this world,” Hawkeye had remarked, “I think this has to be it.”

“A devil, huh?” Mustang said. “I don’t know about that. A State Alchemist has to be willing to act and potentially take another’s life when ordered. No questions asked.” The pair came out onto the staircase. Mustang glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, but he ultimately continued past her, striding into the rain and onto the wet landing. “Some would say that Tucker’s actions aren’t actually that different from ours in terms of interfering in others’ lives. We choose our path knowing what we’re doing, what we might have to do.” He stopped, standing on the top step where Ed sat with his head between his knees. “Isn’t that right, Fullmetal?”

No one responded. Anger bubbled up in Becca’s stomach, but it was a tired anger. She didn’t want to fight with Mustang. She just wanted him to leave them alone.

“It’s likely that you’ll come across more cases like this,” Mustang said frankly. “And it’s possible you’ll have to get your hands dirty as well. You won’t make it very long if you shut down every time it happens.”

“We might be called dogs of the military,” Ed fired back, curling up even more around his knees. “Some people even call us devils. But that doesn’t matter. We’re going to get our bodies back and fix our mistakes.” His hands clenched into his bangs, his voice growing more emotional. “Because we know the truth. We’re not devils. We’re not gods either.” He stood up and shouted up to the sky, “We’re humans- just humans!” Becca lowered her head, closing her eyes as Ed relaxed, his head falling backwards, and miserably finished, “We’re just insignificant humans. We couldn’t even save a little girl.”

Becca pushed off the wall,wrapping her arm around Ed’s shoulder, then reached for Al as well, pulling both of them into an embrace as she closed her eyes tightly. Mustang cleared his throat and she looked up.

“You shouldn’t be surprised, in my opinions, Illusion.”

She squeezed her eyes tighter, silent. She wasn’t surprised, when she thought about it. When she looked back on Tucker’s behavior- his words, his actions, his  _ attitude _ . The horrible feeling he’d given her. She could recognize it now. He perfectly mimicked her father in the months leading up to their transmutation.

“You three need to go home,” Mustang said after a few moments. “Take a few days off. I’ll get in contact with you when I have another lead.”

Becca heard Ed scoff under his breath as Hawkeye and Mustang continued down the steps, presumably to go to the Tucker house along with seemingly the entire staff at headquarters.

“Let’s get out of the rain,” she said, “Come on. You two are all wet. Let’s go back to the dorms,” echoing what he had told her earlier in Tucker’s lab, carefully avoiding calling them “home” like the colonel had. The dorms weren’t home to any of them. Home was… unattainable, at the moment. 

She kept mumbling, coaxing them down the steps, and, before they went too far, she gently tugged Ed’s hood over his head. It probably didn’t do much against the rain, she thought, but maybe it could provide a bit of comfort. They all needed it.

\---

Back at the dorm, Ed went straight to his bed against the window, huddling into the scratchy, standard issue blanket. Becca and Al, on the other hand, stood in the doorway. Becca contemplated going to her own bed, cuddling into the mattress, and blocking the world out. But that thought slipped from her head with barely a few moments of consideration. Her heart was still racing, and she knew innately that she couldn’t calm down by just laying there. She needed to do something.

Her eyes fell on their dishes from breakfast.  _ That’ll do. _

The lukewarm water barely registered to her, providing no comfort like warm might have, but not shocking her out of her stupor like cold. She scrubbed diligently, washing each dish twice for good measure, and even went ahead and dried them rather than leaving them in the supplied rack. That, she thought bitterly, was how someone could tell she was trying to keep busy. Normally, dishes were an unwanted chore that any of them would shorten by letting them air dry. Once every plate, bowl, and utensil was back in its proper spot, she scanned the room. Ed was still facing away, under his comforter, while Al had silently taken a spot on the sofa against the opposite wall. Staring. Just staring. He looked like a knight of old, watching over his domain. If the domain in question was just a dingy room in the barracks, so be it.

“Mind if I join you?” Becca asked quietly, sliding her jacket off. Al shrugged listlessly. She plopped down next to him and leaned over to rest her head on his armor.

“You should try to get some sleep,” Al said after a few minutes. “It’s been a long day.”

“I don’t want to leave you alone, Al. It’s been a long day for all of us,” Becca protested.

“I’ll be okay,” Al assured. “I’m always okay.”

Ed rolled over from his spot on the bed. Though he didn’t sit up, he was at least still awake. Becca shot a sad smile at him across the room.

“I should have realized,” she said to the air. 

“You couldn’t have known,” Al said. “None of us could have known-”

She shook her head slowly. “No, I- Mustang was right. I  _ should _ have seen the signs that he was going to do something awful. And I did- I did feel it. Like deja vu.” But she’d ignored it. Ignored her gut, and where had that gotten them? Any of them? Nowhere. 

“That  _ asshole _ had no right to say that to you,” Ed snapped, the first time he’d spoken since he’d shouted at headquarters. “What does he know?” he asked derisively. “We’ll never sink to that level- I’d never-” He stopped, shutting his mouth quickly and rolling back onto his other side.

Becca and Al exchanged a glance. Clearly “he” was affecting Ed deeply, but there were two possibilities as to who “he” was. Becca cleared her throat and hesitantly asked, “The colonel’s level?”

Ed shuddered so hard they could see it across the room, still facing away from then. “No,” he breathed. “ _ His _ .”

_ Tucker’s _ went unspoken.

All three of them went silent. Al leaned forward and gently insisted, “Of course you wouldn’t, Brother.”

“Mustang- he couldn’t have been serious,” Becca said. “You know he just says things to get under your skin sometimes. He knows your limits. He might be an… ass but he wouldn’t-”

“He said that we knew what we were getting into when we signed up- that all State Alchemists do… but how could we have foreseen anything like this?”

None of them had an answer for that. Ed sighed heavily, curling up again. “I’m going to try and get some sleep. Wake me if anything important happens.” He went silent, though his muscles didn’t relax even as his breathing slowed down. Becca shared another look with Al, then looked away, screwing her gaze down to her lap.

“I assume you know I’m not gonna sleep right now?” she asked rhetorically.

Al nodded slowly. Becca patted his shoulder and stood to grab her needle and thread from her suitcase, along with her jacket. She traced the line of forget-me-nots winding across the shoulders, then down the back panel of tan material, from daffodils to zinnias to rosemary. She threaded the needle, mentally mapping out where another marigold could fit into her growing garden, using her fingers for measurement. Absentmindedly, she started to hum Louisa’s lullaby.

This, this was how she coped. When she didn’t have the words, she could always turn to her flowers. Louisa had taught her about them from birth; their meanings were like a second language to her, their usages as memorized as common medicine, their colors and categories like old friends. Her jacket was a testament to everything she had felt since she’d become a State Alchemist, good and bad. She’d never tried, but she could probably go through and point out every story that went with each specific embroidery. She scoffed to herself, shaking her head.

“Becca?” Al asked when she moved.

“Hm?” She looked up, suddenly snapped out of her reverie.

“You hum that song a lot, like- like when you concentrate,” he observed. He seemed hesitant to bring it up, at least until she gestured encouragingly for him to go on. His armored shoulders eased down and continued, “Brother and I both noticed, but Brother’s too nervous to bring it up since we thought it might have to do with-”

“Louisa,” she finished, smiling softly. She looked away, but made sure to nudge Al playfully so he knew he hadn’t upset her. “Yeah… yeah, that was her song. She would always sing it to Will and I when we were younger, and I… would sometimes sing it when she was sick. But I haven’t since.” She shrugged, her gaze still in her lap as her smile wavered. “I’m just… not ready, I guess. I don’t know.”

“I understand,” Al said reassuringly. “Sometimes, when you and Brother are asleep, I listen to the radio and they play all the older songs since it’s so late. The ones our mom had on records when we were little. Mom’s favorites will come on, and… I can’t always listen to them all the way through. Like you have so many happy memories with it, but they can be overshadowed by the sad ones.”

“Exactly,” Becca agreed, lips quirking back up at once. “You are so wise, Al,” she teased. She remembered hanging out with him in the Hughes’ dining room, asking him if he was always right like he had been then. If anything, their travels had proved that both brothers had more to them than met the eye, Alphonse doubly so, in Becca’s opinion. Ed was a spitfire wrapped up in a rather unassuming package, no matter how much he tried to deny it, and she wouldn’t alter him for the world. But people tended to misjudge Al first on his appearance, then, once they knew him as a young teenager rather than an intimidating man in suit of armor, he surprised them again with his maturity and ability to offer advice for almost any situation, as he had with her since the beginning.

Al rubbed the back of his neck, looking as shy as an armoured helmet could look, and said, “It’s nothing special.”

She learned further into the side of his arm. “Do me a favor, Al?” she requested nonchalantly.

“Sure?”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” she said sternly. “You’re a good person, don’t- don’t forget that, okay?”

He chuckled, wrapping her up into a side hug. “Okay,” he repeated. Becca glanced back down at her jacket, intending to go back to sewing, until Al gently pried it out of her grasp. When she shot him a betrayed look, he sighed. “You should go to sleep too, Becca,” he said again, slightly more insistent than he had before Ed had woken up. “At least try.”

Becca opened her mouth to protest, only to be interrupted by a yawn. She let out a huff of air and stood up, running a hand through her hair. “You’ll be alright?” she checked.

“Of course.”

She rubbed her eyes and kicked off her boots, bundling up as well as she could, still in her street clothes. She heard the rustling of paper as Al pulled out one of his books and closed her eyes. If she laid still enough, she was sure that sleep had to come eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you and your loved ones are all staying healthy and safe, and i'll see y'all in the next update! -c


	10. kuebiko

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello my dears!
> 
> i totally forgot to say it last time, but happy fall! and happy halloween! i adore this time of year and i'm getting super hyped for my senior pictures in a couple weeks so now it's really becoming real that i'm going to graduate soon enough... whack.
> 
> i'm so freaking excited for this chapter. it features the return of one of my faves and took up a whopping 14.5 pages in my google drive and i think it nearly killed my old ass computer from all the times i had to reload and restart the document, but it's actually done the morning of instead of 11:45 at night, which i consider to be an accomplishment.
> 
> as always, i hope you guys enjoy the chapter as much as i enjoyed writing it!
> 
> kuebiko (noun)- a state of exhaustion inspired by acts of senseless violence

Sleep didn’t come eventually. 

No matter how physically exhausted she was, Becca found herself unable to sleep for more than short, twenty to thirty minute bursts throughout the night. And the worst part wasn’t just that she couldn’t get any solid sleep, it was more that any sleep she did get was fitful and she somehow jolted awake even more exhausted than she had been after each bout. She

She’d wake up, catch her breath, and check her watch before shifting to try and find a more comfortable position. Whenever she flipped to face Al, he would always acknowledge her, but made no moves to remove her jacket from where he’d stashed it under his leg so she could continue her work, until the sun was just barely peeking through the window and he apparently deemed it acceptable for her to be fully awake. When she rolled over then, he sighed heavily and tossed her jacket over.

“The string and needle are in the pocket,” he said.

“Thank you,” she said earnestly. She did appreciate Al trying to get her to take care of herself, successfully or otherwise. Since she was up for good, she decided, she might as well try to keep at least a little bit of routine and get her daily tea started. She got water on the stove, then settled at the table to wait.

He tilted his head away, bashful. “I don’t mind, Becca.”

Becca crossed her legs, tucking one of them under herself to get a slight boost in height while she threaded the needle with practiced ease. “I know you don’t,” she said, the words slightly muffled as she held it gingerly between her teeth to spread her jacket over her thighs. She hissed when she reached for the wrong end and wound up pricking her finger, but she continued to talk as she shook her hand limply to ease the pain. “Doesn’t mean I shouldn’t thank you.”

They sat in companionable silence, Al going back to reading as Becca started the beginnings of her next marigold. In the few glances she snuck in his direction, Becca was able to deduce that, at least, Al was taking a break from alchemy. From the cover, she could tell he was reading some new fiction novel he’d picked up. That was good. All three of them could get caught up in alchemic theory, but Al was the best at giving the subject an occasional rest, and he probably needed it the most, given how much more he probably took in compared to her and Ed.

“Do you think we’ll stay here for a while?”

Becca looked up at Al, then turned to look over at Ed’s sleeping form. She made a small noise of consideration. “I don’t know… I kind of assumed we’d stay until this whole thing got resolved. We can ask Ed when he wakes up.”

Al stood up slowly, his joints creaking in protest after being mostly still all night. “In that case, I’m going to go make sure that we can still use the room.” His head dipped. “They might need the room for all the people coming in from Central, right? At least Brother could put us up somewhere if they’re expecting to be too full.”

“I see where you’re coming from,” Becca said. “Alright. I’d offer to come with you, but I’d rather not take the risk of burning the place down.” She gestured to the lit stove, making Al laugh.

“Fair enough,” he said. “I’ll be back soon.”

Still smiling fondly, she waved him away. She retreated to the ensuite to get dressed and settled back down in her seat. The morning was quiet thus far. Becca assumed it was chilly outside, given that no birds were chirping, but she couldn’t hear any rain. She let the minutes drift by as she sketched a marigold onto the fabric with some spare chalk that had fallen out of someone’s bag and started stitching, relishing in the silence.

Of course, it could only last so long.

Within seconds of one another, two sudden sounds pierced through the air. She couldn’t be sure which came first. On one side of the small room, steam poured out of the kettle’s spout. On the other, Ed gasped and shot up in bed. Caught in the middle, part of Becca wanted to stop the kettle’s whining while the other half had to comfort Ed. As a result, she stood up clumsily and tripped over her own feet, striking her knee on the chair, and swore loudly, then winced at her tactlessness.

“Sorry,” she whispered and took the kettle off the stove. “Probably not what you wanted to wake up to.”

Chest heaving, he blinked slowly at her, not saying anything.

“You alright?” she pressed. “Nightmare?”

His face crumpled from looking surprised into something resembling fear (stifled fear, maybe. The kind that one shoved down, hoping no one recognized it in the moment it flashed over their features, flashed in their eyes. The fear you felt when you thought you were too weak, too muddled, and didn’t think you could afford anyone to doubt you) and he drew his metal leg to his chest, letting his hair cover his face as he rested his forehead on his knee. Becca wished he could be honest with her, but she knew that wasn’t how Ed dealt with things in the daytime. Ever since she’d known him, outbursts of genuine fear, anger, sadness… those were rare in the daylight. Under the cover of darkness, he was sometimes more willing to share, but the mornings? Impossible.

“Do you need anything?” Becca asked, glancing out the window to make sure it wasn’t raining and only seeing a cloud of mist obscuring the view. “Your ports hurt?”

He shook his head.

“Okay,” she said, then, quieter, repeated, “okay.”

“Bex?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you just- just keep talking?”

Her breath caught in her throat, but he still wasn’t looking at her, so she opted to give him his space. “Of course,” she said, pouring herself a mug of hot water and dunking a tea bag into it, buying herself a few moments to think of something to ramble about. “Did I ever get around to telling you how I passed my exam? I know I told Al, but you might have been asleep. Everyone knows how you did it, obviously, so I couldn’t just attack the Fuhrer  _ again _ , plus Mustang kind of put me on the spot. I ended up just sneaking a thermometer in and transmuting the mercury behind my back...”

\---

Luckily, Ed had managed to unwind from himself and was in the middle of tying his hair into its usual braid by the time Al returned, letting them know that the room would stay available if they needed it. Once that rather one sided conversation was done, however, he and Becca both deferred to Ed, who was staring absentmindedly out the window.

“Ed?” Becca asked, making him jump. “What’s the plan?”

Pain flitted across his face. He hesitated. “We- we’ve got to go to headquarters,” he said after a few seconds. “Figure out what’s going on.” He regarded her pointedly. “But first, we need to eat. You-  _ we _ ,” he amended, knowing she hated being singled out, “haven’t eaten since breakfast yesterday.”

Becca’s face fell. “I’m not hungry.”

“Becca, come on-”

“No, you’re right, we need to go ask Mustang what’s going to happen-”

“Al,” Ed turned on his brother, “Back me up.”

“Alphonse,” Becca stressed pleadingly.

The younger boy glanced between them, uncertain, before edging slightly closer to Ed’s bed. “You should have breakfast,” he agreed, then added, “both of you,” careful with his wording as well.

Becca attempted to stare each of them down, her jaw set firmly, but neither gave in and she eventually crumbled. “Fine,” she muttered. Ed cracked a tiny, triumphant smile, and pulled himself out of bed, rubbing the port of his automail leg. It must have still been sore from the rain yesterday, and the chill that apparently persisted into the morning. He made his way to the bathroom with his clothes as Becca set her sights on a box of dry cereal, pouring two bowls and leaving one on the counter for when he was done.

Already, she could hear the rest of the barracks occupants beginning their sleepy morning routines. Soldiers bustled past in the hallway outside their door, and she could hear the usual boyish humor being tossed around. Inappropriate, Becca thought, for what felt like a day of mourning. She almost wanted to shout at the men passing by, demand what was wrong with them to be able to carry on joking and laughing as if a little girl’s life hadn’t been destroyed, but shook her head almost as soon as the thought crossed her mind.

_ It’s possible you’ll have to get your hands dirty as well. You won’t make it very long if you shut down every time it happens. _

She wondered who had taught Mustang that lesson.

She wondered if it was the same person who’d taught it to her.

\---

Headquarters, however, was just as bland as ever. 

It was actually strangely comforting.

Contrasting how they’d left the barracks yesterday, Becca and the boys had barely spoken a word between them while they’d trudged through the city, up the stairs, and deeper and deeper into the building to Team Mustang’s office bordering the inner courtyard. They stood stock still in front of the door until Ed sighed and reached for the brass knocker.

Of course, because their timing could never be exactly right, the door opened right before Ed knocked.

“What are you three doing here?” Lieutenant Hawkeye asked. “It’s still awfully early.”

Ed flinched. “We, uh-” he mumbled, then hesitantly said, “We wanted to know what was going to happen to the Tuckers...”

A small noise of surprise slipped out of Hawkeye’s mouth before she could stop herself like she normally would. Trying to recover, her expression steeled and she responded, “Mr. Tucker was  _ supposed _ to be stripped of his title and be transferred to Central to stand trial for his actions.” She shifted minutely, looking away from them as she continued, “But they’re both dead.”

Becca froze. Ed’s jaw dropped. Al choked out, “Dead?”

“I’m not going to lie to you, not when you’ll find out anyway soon enough,” Hawkeye said, her tone ever so slightly more gentle than usual, but still business-like as she started to walk down the hall. “They were murdered.”

“They- how?” Becca trailed off.

Ed jogged to catch up with the lieutenant, Al only a few steps behind. “By who?” he demanded.

“We don’t know,” Hawkeye said. “I was just stopping by for some paperwork the colonel forgot before heading to the scene.”

“We want to come,” Al said at once.

“No.” Hawkeye said shortly, her voice shifting back into its normal firm patterns.

“Why not?” Ed interjected.

The lieutenant stopped, stopping both boys on the tracks with a stern look over her shoulder. Her eyes flicked towards Becca, who was still paralyzed in shock near the office door. “You don’t need to see this,” she said resolutely.

With that, she hurried away, leaving Edward and Alphonse in the dust as they processed her words as well. Becca’s hands curled into fists, nails digging into her palms, as she staggered backwards. She forced herself to swallow and saw Ed open his mouth to say something, but the blood rushing through her ears drowned out any sound he made. She knew it was always uncomfortably warm inside headquarters, but chills were crawling down her spine. Her chest heaved, but she couldn’t take a breath. The hallway was suffocating. She had to get out.

“I- I need to go for a walk,” she forced, aware of how strangled she sounded, but unable to do anything else.

She turned on her heel and bolted.

Apparently that was exactly the stimulation she needed, since, once she’d burst through the door and into the light rain, her ears and her lungs were suddenly working in full force again. The rush of oxygen, the sound of her own heavy, uneven footfalls, and the cold water hitting her skin all spurred her on. If anything, they made her run faster. She didn’t know if the Elrics had followed, but she had a feeling they understood she needed some space. At least she hoped so. She hated them seeing her like this and had made a conscious effort to keep her emotions in check after she’d run away and the MacDougal incident. Breaking down yesterday was enough for the foreseeable future, thank you very much. 

Left, right, another left.

She just needed to get away and calm down, she told herself.

Straight, right. 

And then she would meet them back at HQ, or maybe the dorms.

Left, left, straight, left.

They’d pull themselves together like they always did.

Unfortunately, Becca would say she was used to disappointment. She couldn’t count how many times she’d been let down throughout her life, but this was different. She hadn’t made the mistake she always made in the past. She hadn’t trusted Tucker like she’d trusted that Cornello’s stone was the real deal, or trusted that Will was going to come back to her, inherently trusted her parents to have her best interests at heart for so many years, or trusted  _ herself _ , that she could make them proud. So the buzzing pain in her heart, head, and gut couldn’t be disappointment, could it?

Right, straight, left.

Tucker probably knew she didn’t like him. She didn’t think she’d been very secretive about it. Could it be guilt? That maybe, somehow, their presence had pushed Tucker to the edge? Or, God forbid, something they’d done had given him the idea?

Right.

_ No, no, _ she told herself.  _ He’d already done it once before. _

Left, too many people, backpedal, straight.

What if she was just trying to rationalize it to quell the regret?

Right, left.

God, she hated him-

Left.

Hate, she realized. That was it. Hatred was coursing through her body, though she couldn’t tell if it was directed at Tucker or herself.

Straight, straight.

She didn’t think she’d ever truly hated someone before. Before, for the others, there was some twisted sort of love that still remained under the surface. Whether or not they deserved it was questionable, but there were still some fond memories, albeit very few. Every time Will had comforted her after one of their father’s blowouts, or answered one of her thousands of questions about alchemy. Playing dress up with her mother, draped in her inherited pearls. When her father took her to visit the military academy and sat her in class with the soldiers in training to show her off.

Nina must have had similar memories with her father. Hell, she probably had more. After all, from what she had said, before he’d been certified, Becca had assumed he’d been a good man, even if they were poorer.

Left, straight, left.

So had her own father. Not in the time that she’d known him, but she’d seen photos from his and Louisa’s wedding and the years following- moving into their house, Will’s birth, his first few birthdays- not unlike the one on Nina’s dresser. And then he became a State Alchemist.

Right, left.

Was it the certification? That was the common denominator after all.

Left, straight, right, right.

Would it happen to Ed?’

Straight, right, left.

Would it happen to her?

Right.

Vaguely, she realized she didn’t recognize her surroundings. All of Easy City kind of looked the same from her point of view, arguably uniform compared to the streets of Adethal, but even Becca was able to pick out some of the major landmarks, or note government buildings. The alleys she was running down, however, were totally unfamiliar.

Left, left,  _ stop. _

She stumbled backwards as she hit a warm surface. An apology was on the tip of her tongue when her eyes met a familiar pair of surprised baby blues and a strangled gasp took its place, tumbling out before she could stop it.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Will said, his mouth curling up into a smirk. “Little sister?”

“Will, I-” she breathed faintly, then lurched backwards as he leapt forward. All too suddenly, she was grounded again, thrown out of her thoughts and urgently aware of her surroundings. She stumbled and lost ground again when Will advanced quicker than she could clear her mind. She returned one of his missed blows with a messy swing back, forcing him to give her a bit of space. “How are you here?  _ Why _ are you here? You’ll be captured!”

“I’ve made some alliances,” Will said. “Turns out I’m not the only one who has problems with how the military runs things. There are some Ishvalans who were very sympathetic towards my… disdain for the state.”

Becca dodged one hit, but failed to see the second one coming and got knocked backwards. “They’ve been searching for you since… since last time,” she panted. “Where the hell did you hide?”

“Oh, sure, let me just spill all my secrets, so you can go tell dear old Fuhrer Bradley and have him bring me in?” he said derisively. “And put the people who took me in and actually worried about me when I’d come here in danger? Hell no!”

“I’m not asking for anyone but myself! I wouldn’t tell, you know that,” she insisted, blocking his fist with her forearm and grabbing his other hand when it came up to strike her, then shoving him backwards. “I've just been worried about you, after all! You disappeared!”

“Yeah, right, like you worried about me  _ so _ much when you were back at home, living with  _ my parents _ !”

“We were! I- I did! I have someone else’s word, just-” Becca held out a hand to keep him at bay as her hand flew to her pocket, “-just let me find it!”

“I don’t want to hear it!” Will snapped, surging forward. He clapped his hands and, for the first time, Becca noticed the rings that had caused the scar on her throat as they extended into the same claws from last time. Becca shrieked, scurrying down the alley the same way she’d come to avoid the sharpened talons, when she finally found what she was looking for.

“Here!” She brandished the letter in front of her. “It’s from Victor-”

She got out of the way of one kick and intercepted the following punch, twisting Will’s arm behind him, but he was quick to loop his leg around her and try to knock her off balance. They grappled for a few moments until Becca lost her footing and they both tumbled to the ground. Becca let go, rolling away into a crouch and stuffing the letter back into her jacket pocket. Will leapt to his feet and was quick to leap onto her again.

All civilized rules of fighting went out the window. Will wasn’t pulling any punches, and Becca knew she couldn’t afford to either. They rolled back and forth in the alleyway, splashing through puddles of rainwater, as they struggled. Becca quickly closed her eyes against the dirty water, but during the few moments she forced her eyes open, she noticed Will’s wet, loose hair. It had gotten long in the years he’d been missing, like hers had after her father’s death, but he hadn’t bothered tying it up. That was only an advantage for her. She briefly considered trying to escape again, but when he pressed his arm up against her neck and she was almost sent spiralling through her memories back into their first meeting, she instinctively reached up and buried her hand in his hair. 

Even wet, she was able to get a firm grip, and she gave a hard tug, snapping her brother’s head to the side. Another good yank sent him spinning away from her and she was able to take an actual defensive stance. Once Will had regained his bearings, he sank into a more offensive position, but he didn’t charge right back into the fight. Each of them giving the other a wary look, they circled, carefully not breaking eye contact, until-

Will ran out of patience and pounced, and they were entangled in the dance once more. Becca was matching him blow for blow, weaving and dodging around Will’s fists as she struck only when she knew she wouldn’t miss. He’d always had more brute strength than her and frankly could and probably would outmatch her in skill, but she could strategize and outlast him.

“You’ve gotten faster, sister,” Will said mockingly.

“I’ve had some good sparring partners,” she replied, twisting out of the way of a swipe to her chest.

He fought the same way he always did when they were younger- like he didn’t want to. Like he wanted to just get it over with. She’d never been able to win against that because he was so willing to put everything on the line so early out. But now she didn’t need to win. She just needed to tire him out enough that she could escape. When one swing came a bit too close for comfort, she stepped away and was suddenly acutely aware of just how small the alley was.

Trying to buy time, she leapt on something he’d confessed to earlier in their interaction. “You said you came here sometimes. Why, if you knew you’d be putting yourself in danger?”

He smirked, edging ever closer. “Why, I’d hoped we would cross paths some time,” he explained, voice dripping with faux sweetness. “I wanted to catch up without Fullmetal and his brother around.” His eyes glinted. “You know, you haven’t been outside an apartment in the city without one of them in over a year and a half? Not even a walk by yourself. You never were the independent type.”

Her blood went cold. “You’ve been watching me?”

“Oh, she finally caught on!” he said, rolling his eyes. “Obviously!”

“Why?” she demanded. “You could have just run! Clearly, you have a space somewhere else, why didn’t you just stay there, where you’re safe?”

“Because I don’t want to be safe!” Will advanced and she backed off again. “I’m not the one who should be exiled!” He took another step. “You’re the bastard child!” Another. “You took everything from me!” Another. “And I’m going to make you pay!”

She braced herself against the corner he’d backed her into, flush against the wall. “I didn’t- I never meant to-”

“I’m not going to just sit by and watch you get all the glory,” Will growled, drawing closer and closer until they were practically nose to nose. Grime had fully saturated his light blue shirt, turning it dingy gray, and his bangs had fallen over his eyes, droplets of water snaking through them and steadily dripping down onto the pavement. She was sure she was soaked as well, probably even more so from her sprint, not to mention how much mud must be caking her body from rolling around.

Becca tried to formulate a plan, but she couldn’t see a way out of this. Trapped between two walls and a murderous alchemist with a grudge, she raised a hand and attempted to shove him away from her, but he’d been expecting it and grabbed her by the arm, using it to hold her still even as she struggled to get free. She squeezed her eyes shut and hoped- maybe this had all been a dream. Maybe she’d wake up in bed at the dorm, miserable about Tucker’s misdeeds but still alive and fighting. Or maybe that had been a dream too. Maybe Nina was still alive and well, and Becca was just a psychologist’s dream patient for what her unconscious mind was coming up with.

“Sorry, Rebecca,” Will crooned, the first time he’d said her name since the night they’d said goodbye. “I can’t make it personal this time around. But come on, this State Alchemist killer couldn’t have come at a better time, am I right?”

She could feel the golden claws brushing her skin when the ground shook beneath them. Becca’s eyes flew open just in time to see an explosion laced with pale blue electric pulses erupt from the direction of Eastern Headquarters.

Some soldier in the street called out, “Attack on the command center!”

Will’s words echoed through her head.  _ State Alchemist killer. _

_ Basque Grand. _

_ Shou Tucker and Nina. _

_ Ed and Al. _

“Oh, no…” she breathed.

Becca drove her knee up and caught Will in the gut, forcing him to keel over and stumble away from her. Not pausing to revel in her short lived victory, she bolted down the alley, trying desperately to remember which turns she’d taken on her run, even as she heard Will’s footsteps picking up behind her. She tore through the city, barrelled around the odd passerby, and could even see a destroyed staircase and a ripped up green, dragon-emblazoned Amestrian flag in the distance when she felt an iron grip wind around her wrist. Pain exploded through her left arm and she cried out, only to be cut off by Will’s other hand covering her mouth. He tried to pull her backwards, but she swivelled around, swinging her free hand. There was a snap when her fist made contact with Will’s nose.

If nothing else, Becca had to admit that Will was resilient. He still had a tight grip on her as blood dripped from his now-crooked nose and no amount of frantic tugging on her end could get her free. It felt like she was putting all her energy into just keeping her feet planted and not being dragged back into the depths of the city.

Shouting broke through the sound of rain hitting the pavement. Familiar shouting. Becca recognized Al urging his brother to follow him and another crackle of alchemy and she fought even harder to escape Will’s grip, but it wasn’t until another explosion rocked the city that she actually thought she might start to cry.

With her free hand, she grabbed onto Will’s hand over her mouth and jostled with him until she’d gotten it off.

“Let go of me!” she snarled. “Ed and Al need help!”

“You are not escaping this again!” Will growled.

A few streets over, in the stuffy quiet of the rain, Becca could hear metal shattering and hitting the ground. Something inside of her broke. She kept pulling, but she couldn’t stop a tear from falling or her voice from cracking as she desperately pleaded, “Please…”

The frantic tug of war paused. Becca, unwillingly, went a little limp, sure Will was going to drag her backwards.

Becca was dropped to her knees.

Her heart seemed to drop even further, down into the ground. Stunned, she propped herself up on her uninjured wrist and twisted to look up at Will, who was decidedly doing just the opposite.

“Go.”

Her mouth fell open. “...What?”

Will’s face twisted into an ugly grimace and he stepped back, holding his hands to his chest. “I said, go!” he snapped. “Go… go help those brothers! Now! Before I change my mind!”

She pushed herself to her feet, cradling her wrist. She took a few hesitant steps onto the main road, not breaking eye contact with him, before turning tail and starting to run in the direction of the explosions.

“Dammit!” she heard Ed swear, evidently frustrated. A deep voice responded, but Becca wasn’t quite close enough to make out what he was saying. A bright flash of transmutation and the scraping of metal against the pavement pinpointed their presence and she actually had to dash through another alley to the next street over, skidding to a stop just in time to see a second flash of blue lightning spiking from a dark-skinned man’s arm over Ed’s automail. She froze in place as, seemingly in slow motion, the limb shattered, and she was only shook out of her shocked state when the pieces clattered to the ground.

A fearful noise rose in Becca’s throat, but the attacker didn’t seem to know she was there yet, and that was probably an advantage she shouldn’t throw away. Ed, collapsed on the ground, wasn’t facing her, and even Al was too focused on the confrontation to discern her footsteps from the rain. Logically, she knew she could go for help. Hell, that might even be the smarter choice. But she couldn’t make herself run. She refused to take the risk of allowing something to happen- someone to die- because she wasn’t there to stop it.

“Now you cannot use your heretic’s alchemy,” the man said lowly, stepping out into the street. Ed tried to back up and the attacker kept moving forward, only to stop after a few steps when Ed fumbled with his missing arm and crumpled fully, falling onto his side with a small thump.

Curled in on himself on the ground, Ed looked very small. Since she’d known him, Becca had never thought of him like that. How could she? With such a big personality, even in his moments of weakness, Ed always acted like grown up. But in the end, he was just a teenager. Just a kid, really. They all were ultimately kids, kids who were now facing down an alleged serial killer.

“I’ll give you a moment to pray to God,” the man allowed.

“There isn’t any God I want to pray to,” Ed argued weakly.

Al clawed his forward, reaching desperately for the man’s ankle in an attempt to stop him.“Brother, get out of the way!” he called frantically. “Brother!”

Ed’s voice rose over his brother’s, protectively trying to keep the man’s attention on him. “Am I the only one you’re after? Or are you going to hurt my brother too?”

What was he talking about?

“If  _ anyone  _ interferes, I will eliminate them,” the man said, glancing around warningly at the pedestrians lingering on the street out of the corner of his eye. “But you are the only one receiving judgement today, Fullmetal Alchemist.”

“I want your word,” Ed said, pushing up from his side onto his hip, “that you’ll leave Al alone- that you won’t hurt my brother!”

“I can agree to that,” the man said, his voice almost gentle.

“Brother, no…” Al whimpered, pulling himself even further out into the street. “What are you doing? Brother-!”

She couldn’t take the pain in his voice anymore. Becca touched her hands together, the familiar spark of alchemy running through her body to form a stone staff out of one of the walls nearby. She tried to creep out of the alleyway, but she made it only a few feet before she stepped a little too firmly into a puddle and winced. The man’s eyes snapped up to meet hers. She halted at once, holding her weapon defensively.

“Who-”

She didn’t wait for him to finish, just rushed him while she still had him off guard. She let out a battle cry as she brought the staff down towards the man’s head. He grunted, leaping backwards and driving his feet into the pavement, successfully dodging her strike, though she was quick to swing back up and attempt another hit. That time, however, she was less lucky. The man grabbed the end of her staff and energy crackled through it. Becca cried out, her hands scalded. Before she could react, the man had grabbed her with his other hand and easily flipped her over his shoulder into a wall near the opposite alley. The bulk of her body made contact first and her head jerked backwards and her vision swam as she tumbled to the ground. Barely, she heard someone call her name, and she managed to pry her eyes open to see black boots pacing in front of her. The man was saying something, his deep voice clearly pleased as he bent over to pick something up: a silver pocket watch. Her heart rate spiked with panic and she reached for her pocket, pushing through the pain clouding her head, and couldn’t feel her watch in its usual spot. Vaguely, she realized it must have been knocked loose when she’d hit the wall.

“Another child,” the man said pensively. “Unfortunate, but I do what must be done in the name of God.” He dropped the watch next to her and she flinched.

“Hey!” Ed shouted, sounding desperate. “I’m over here! Leave her alone!”

Satisfied that she wasn’t going anywhere, the man stepped over her, back towards Ed. He turned to her and promised, “You, Illusion, will be dealt with next.”

Becca forced herself up onto her elbows, army crawling towards the man and Ed, but she didn’t make it. She  _ couldn’t _ make it. Instead, she reached for Al, gripping his armored hand tightly when she felt it in her palm.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered to him, horrified, but unable to look away as the murderer reached almost reverently to set a hand on Ed’s wet golden hair. “It’ll be okay,” she reassured, “You’ll be alright.”

“Not without you two!” Al protested, then yelled at the man, his voice rising in desperation with each word, “Brother! Run! Get out of here! Leave him alone! Stop!  _ Stop it! _ ”

Shots fired. Becca’s head jerked up, but that only served to make her head spin her and she had to put her head back down, shutting her eyes against the waves of nausea.

“That’s enough, Scar,” Mustang’s voice rang out. Slower this time, Becca raised her head, still blinking away the remnants of motion sickness, and took in the half circle of blue uniformed soldiers that had fanned out on the other end of the street. Mustang had fired the warning shots- his gun was still up in the air. “You’re not killing anyone else today. I’m taking you into custody and you are going to answer for the deaths of at least ten State Alchemists, including Basque Grand and Shou Tucker.”

Her eyes travelled down the line of soldiers; Mustang’s team she recognized easily- Hawkeye, Havoc, Breda, Fuery, Falman- but why were they all so still? Why weren’t they doing anything?

But then she turned to Ed, still huddled in the street, with the man’s- Scar’s- hand only inches above him. Still in danger. Still in  _ very clear _ danger. She understood. They had to get him away from Ed before they could even get close to him. The man seemed to realize that in the same moment, given that he addressed Mustang only while standing over Ed. “Alchemists,” he said the word like it burned, “alter things from their natural form. Transform them into something grotesque. They turn their backs on God, the true creator of all things. As His agent, I am merely handing down His judgement.”

“Yeah, that’s what I don’t understand,” Mustang said. “There are plenty of lower level alchemists all over the country. Why only go after those who work for the State?” He smirked. “I’d assume that only makes your job harder.”

“That matters not,” the man said firmly. “If you intervene, you will be eliminated as well.”

Ed twitched on the ground, his flesh arm moving slightly to shield his head as he tried to glare up at their attacker for his nonanswer. Scar’s piercing gaze swivelled back to him.

_ Please don’t move, _ Becca thought, focusing all her energy on mentally willing Ed to stay still.  _ He’ll kill you if he thinks he get away with it. Please, please, just wait until he takes a few steps. _

“Oh, really?” Mustang asked, raising a cocky eyebrow. He put his gun down and handed it off to Hawkeye, who fumbled with it slightly as she had to withdraw her own weapon, then smirked and tugged his glove further down his wrist. “You all stay out of this,” he ordered his men firmly.

“Sir-!” Hawkeye protested.

The colonel waved her off, pushing his wet hair back against the rain.

Becca’s eyes widened. Rain. Wet hair.

“Colonel Mustang!” she objected weakly.

“Mustang?” Scar said, barely sparing her a glimpse over his shoulder as a pointy smile spread across his face. “Of course, the Flame Alchemist.” Becca couldn’t stop a breath of relief from escaping as the man finally stepped away from where he’d been straddling Ed towards the advancing colonel, though she knew Mustang didn’t stand a chance against Scar during a rainstorm. He had his team watching his back. She knew he’d be fine as Scar’s speed picked up. “Coming forward to voluntarily receive judgement? That makes this a truly auspicious day!”

When Scar started to run, Hawkeye did too.

“You know who I am and you still want to challenge me?” Mustang said confidently, striding ever closer. “If that’s the case, you’re even more a fool than you seem!” He drew his hand back to snap and-

-And was promptly knocked off his feet via a swift kick to the ankle from Hawkeye as she slid under him, using her momentum to stand and start firing with both her and Mustang’s guns. Scar retreated, dancing between bullets.

“Hawkeye!” Mustang whined, holding his ankle on the ground as Scar managed to get behind a corner. “What the hell was that for?”

“You know you’re useless when it’s raining, sir,” Hawkeye said coolly. “Please stay back for your own safety.”

Even in battle Havoc had to get a jab in, poking Mustang with his foot as he teased, “Yeah, I guess it would be difficult to get a spark going right now, huh, sir?”

“So you can’t use your blasphemous flames,” Scar said from his spot around the corner. “How fortunate.” He stepped out into the open again, baring his teeth. “For today, I am going to destroy all who interfere with my mission, here and now!”

A shadow loomed up from the other end of the alley Scar had ducked into. “I’d like to see you try!” Alex Louis Armstrong crowed.

Scar jolted out of the way, grunting something under his breath. Becca just let herself relax. Armstrong was here. They had a chance.

Soldiers crowded around Ed, obscuring him from view as soon as Scar was safely distracted. Becca’s gaze roamed as Scar and Armstrong each leapt into combat, landing on where Mustang and Hawkeye had crouched next to a portable sniping rifle stand. Her muscles protested, but she hauled herself up to her hands and knees. Al tightened his grip on her hand and she had to placate him with quiet words of reassurance before he let go.

“It’s alright,” she mumbled. “It’ll be okay. I’m gonna go help and see if I can’t get a look at Ed. It’s okay.”

“Be careful, Becca,” Al said, voice quivering.

Spurred on, she got herself to her feet and shoved through the pain fogging her head in order to teeter across the street, dodging projectiles and barely avoiding being speared by a pointed bit of rock formed during one of Armstrong’s attacks.

“Watch it, Armstrong!” Havoc snapped from next to Ed. “We’d like to avoid destroying the city!”

Becca forced herself to block Amrstrong out as he shouted a response, then presumably ripped his shirt off, given that she saw it flutter to the ground a few feet away. Her head was pounding and focusing on too many things surely wouldn’t help. She kept going until she hit her knees next to Mustang and Hawkeye. Mustang had frozen, stunned, but Becca couldn’t afford to focus on him right now.

“Rebecca-” Hawkeye said.

“I can do this,” she interrupted, taking the half constructed tripod and its remaining parts with shaky hands. “Get your gun ready.”

The lieutenant opened her mouth, then stopped, and nodded. All at once, Armstrong cornered Scar against a wall, Becca finished the tripod, and Hawkeye affixed her rifle into its clamp and took aim.

“Come on, Armstrong,” she heard her murmur. Becca looked over, narrowing her eyes at Armstrong’s broad back. He had to move before Hawkeye could have a clear shot. Just as Scar reached out towards Armstrong’s hip, the Strong Arm Alchemist danced out of the way, leaving him wide open. Hawkeye didn’t waste a second and shots rang out again.

“Did you get him?” Mustang asked. Becca briefly thought that was a stupid question, given that it was  _ Hawkeye _ they were talking about but she took a second look. Scar was still standing.

He’d dodged every bullet.

His dark sunglasses fell to the ground, one lense shattered, followed by a spattering of blood.

Well, almost every bullet.

“He’s too fast,” Hawkeye remarked. “I only grazed him with one shot.”

However, that one strike was all they needed to figure out the truth. As one, the entire squadron of military personnel went silent.

“Brown skin and red eyes,” Armstrong said pensively. “That means he’s…”

“An Ishvalan!” Mustang breathed.

The entire group seemed to be holding their breath. Scar panted, backed up against the brick, trapped between a wall of a building and a wall of guns aimed at him. “There might be too many,” he muttered to himself. “I’m at a disadvantage with so many opponents.”

Mustang had his hand up, the soldiers holding fire under his command, but Becca knew every hand had a finger resting on the trigger. The colonel called out, “Scar! Give up and come quietly! You have to know you can’t escape us now!”

Everyone was still for a few moments, then, almost faster than the eye could see, he slammed his tattooed arm into the ground. Becca scooted backwards, and it seemed that most of the MPs were with her, even though she thought she heard Mustang shouting for them to fire. When the concrete stopped collapsing, leaving a cloud of dust to mix with the rain, a few soldiers hesitantly approached the new hole in the street. 

“The bastard went into the sewers,” Havoc said, sounding impressed.

“Stay out,” Mustang ordered curtly. “Do not follow him.”

Havoc scoffed. “Don’t have to tell me twice.”

Mustang moved a bit closer, standing next to Armstrong. “Sorry we missed,” he said genuinely. “But thanks for buying us time to surround him anyway.”

Armstrong shook his head. “I was hardly buying time. I was more focused on keeping myself alive.”

“Ah, is it over yet?”

Becca looked towards the familiar voice, unable to stop a small smile from forming. Lieutenant Colonel Hughes had popped up from behind a car, much to Mustang and Armstrong’s chagrin.

“Is that where you’ve been, Lieutenant Colonel?” Armstrong grunted.

“I’ve been laying low,” Hughes defended, shrugging carelessly.

“You didn’t think that maybe you should back us up?” Mustang snapped.

“Obviously not!” Hughes said flippantly. “A normal guy like me has no place in a fight with you freakish pseudo-humans! It’s bad for my health!” He turned to his troops and sharply ordered, “Now what are you all doing? We’ve got things to do! Deploy troops! Circulate his description around the city!”

“Yes, sir!” they all shouted in unison. The majority of them dispersed, including the ones other than Havoc that had surrounded Ed and the ones who had formed a small human barrier protecting Al, finally allowing all three of them to see each other for the first time after the fight. Although, Becca thought contentedly, Ed only seemed to be looking for his brother. As he should. She was fine, meanwhile, Al was literally falling apart.

“Oh, no, Alphonse…” Ed said faintly, stumbling to his feet and over to Al’s still body, then crashing down next to him. He shook Al’s metal shoulder plate, making it clank a bit. Becca beckoned Fuery over.

“Help me over there, will you?” she requested softly.

Fuery smiled, allowing her to wrap an arm around his shoulders and hoist herself up. She hobbled over just in time to hear Ed pleading, “Al! Can you hear me? Are you alright? Talk to me, please!”

“Edward,” Becca said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “He might just-”

Suddenly, Al jerked up, his fist knocking Ed back onto his rear with a shocked cry. “You idiot!” Al shouted, lurching forward as much as he was able. “Why didn’t you run when I told you to?”

It took only a moment for Ed to break out of his shock that Al had hit him, not in a sparring match, but to actually hurt him, and then he was lashing back, “So I was just supposed to leave you behind? No way!”

“Which is why you’re so stupid!” Al retorted, socking Ed again.

“Al…” Becca said to break the tension, then quickly raised her hands in surrender and defended, “Hey, hey, hey, I already got knocked on the head, don’t go hitting me.”

“And why do you keep punching me?” Ed complained, holding his jaw. “If I ran, he might have killed you!”

“And he might not have!” Al argued. “Maybe choosing to die is something that only an idiot would do!”

Clearly trying to salvage his reputation, Ed got back up and in his brother’s face, waving a finger haphazardly. “Go easy on the idiot thing, I’m still your older brother, you hear?”

One thing he didn’t see coming was Al’s metal fist curling around the collar of his shirt, keeping him close when he tried to back away. Becca heard a foreboding creak and urged, “Al, maybe you shouldn’t-”

He ignored her. “I’ll say it all I want to if you insist on being an idiot!” he said then, voice still heated, though a bit kinder than he had been, “Surviving is the only option, Brother! Live on, and learn more about alchemy, so we can get our bodies back! And maybe you can save other people like Nina!” He shook Ed a bit to drive his point in. “You- you can’t do that by dying! I would never forgive you if you chose to abandon hope and die a meaningless death instead of fighting to live!”

Ed opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by an abrupt snap as Al’s remaining arm fell to the pavement. Al groaned, frustrated. “Aw, great! And now my arm fell off! Because my brother’s a big, stupid idiot!” Becca couldn’t hold back a watery laugh, making him turn to her and sternly say, “Just because I can’t hit you doesn’t mean that doesn’t all go for you, Becca!”

She shut her mouth, trying to look appropriately cowed. Ed laughed hollowly, then leaned against Al’s chest. “We really are a mess, huh, Brother?” he gestured to the metal scraps scattered around them. “We could say we look terrible and that wouldn’t even cover half of it.”

“But we’re alive,” Al mumbled.

“Yeah,” Ed said thoughtfully. “We’re alive.”

Becca smiled softly, glancing away to give them a moment of privacy. As she did so, her eyes caught on Mustang standing with Hughes a few feet away. A fond smile had slipped through his usual mask as he looked down the alley at the boys, though it dropped quickly when he noticed her looking. She cocked her eyebrow at him, but didn’t comment, especially since she could finally feel warmth on her back for the first time in what seemed like ages. She turned quickly, a smile of her own lighting up her face, and had to shield her eyes against the bright rays of sun, and she could have sworn she saw a flash of Will’s dark jacket disappearing around a fire escape.

\---

Within a few hours, all the major players in the fight with Scar had gathered in Mustang’s office. Some, like Hughes, Breda, and Havoc, took over the couches, a few, like Ed and Hawkeye, stayed on their feet, and even Becca and Al had taken the floor, although Al didn’t particularly have a choice. Given his state, they’d picked up every piece of him that they could find so Ed wouldn’t have to thin his body out too much, and put them all in a large box, of which Al’s head stuck out so he could still see and be a part of the conversation. Ed and Becca had been forced to get checked out along with the rest of the team, so Becca’s wrist was sufficiently bandaged and she’d been ordered to keep icing it while they were briefed. She also had officially been cleared without a concussion so she’d be able to travel whenever the boys decided to leave. In the interest of not ruining Mustang’s leather couches, she’d sat down on the floor and leaned against Al’s box, resting her free hand on Ed’s shoe as he tapped his opposite foot impatiently.

“Since he is Ishvalan,” Mustang was remarking, “his revenge is justified, in some capacity.”

“No way!” Ed said dismissively. “He can’t justify dragging people who weren’t involved in the first place-” He gestured around to him, Becca, and Al, “-into his ‘revenge’ plot.”

Becca nodded quickly. “It would be one thing if he was coming after you,” she noted, then amended, “no offense. But us three, we were kids when the Ishvalan conflict was happening. All he’s doing is dressing up his lust for vengeance as a divine mission by adding God into the equation.”

“And acting all arrogant about it by calling himself an agent of justice,” Ed added.

Mustang sighed heavily. “Justified or not, he’s coming at us full-force. Especially since he knows we know his secrets.”

“Secrets?” Becca asked, furrowing her brows. “There’s something other than the Ishvalan thing?”

“He’s an alchemist too,” Ed explained. “You know, comprehension, deconstruction, reconstruction- but he stops at the second stage.”

She bit her lip and thought back on the murderer’s attacks. That did make sense, the more she thought about it.“Ah. A hypocrite,” she said sagely.

“And one we can’t afford to underestimate again,” Mustang interrupted from behind steepled fingers. “We can’t let him kill us.” He levelled a hard stare across the desk at all of them. “Next time we see him, there’s not going to be any talking. We’re going to take him out.”

There were a few mumbled, “Yes sir”s, but they were few and far between. Everyone seemed subdued. Becca squeezed Ed’s foot reassuringly.

Hughes stretched his arms over his head, then groaned loudly. “Alright, enough on that grim topic. Edward, Alphonse, Rebecca? What are you three going to do now?”

“We’ve got to keep moving,” Ed said firmly. “I don’t know about you guys,” he said to Becca and Al’s direction, “but I’m done sitting around while I’m still alive.”

“Me too, Brother,” Al said.

“You know I’m with you both,” Becca affirmed.

Ed gave them a tiny smile and feebly joked, “But I guess we can’t exactly keep moving forward until you’re up on your feet again, huh, Al? We gotta go get my arm back to normal before we can make any headway since I’m the only one who can keep you soul anchored to your body.” He rolled his eyes up to the ceiling, huffing. “I guess we don’t really have a choice. It’s been a long time, but we’ve gotta visit our mechanic back home.”

Becca thought back to staying in the hospital after the MacDougal incident and sneaking glances at the intricacies of his automail arm, but even then, she’d wondered if she’d ever be allowed to come along to get it looked at, and knowing that their mechanic was back in their hometown of Resembool only magnified that uncertainty. Their home might be too intimate and she wouldn’t blame them for not wanting her to see them at what was probably their most vulnerable.

“I guess I’ll see you in a few days?”

“Can you be ready to leave by tomorrow?”

Ed blinked. Becca blinked. “What?” they asked in unison. Someone in the office chuckled with an unmistakable fondness.

“You want me to come?”

“You weren’t going to?”

“You two, honestly,” Al grumbled, then his neck joints creaked as he looked down at Becca. “Becca, would you like to come visit Resembool with us?”

“I- of course,” Becca stuttered.

“I’ll go ahead and order your tickets for the first train out tomorrow morning,” Mustang said. “You three are dismissed to go pack, and Armstrong, could you tag along and take Alphonse to their room?” The blonde man nodded, and the colonel continued, “Then come back here. The rest of you, stick around and start writing your reports until Armstrong gets back and we can pick out an escort.”

Ed, who looked ready to bolt up until Mustang mentioned an escort, whirled around, his temper spiking. “We don’t need an escort!”

“Oh, so you’re just going to take the murderer by yourself?” Mustang challenged, then gestured to Ed’s port and added, “One handed?”

“He has a point, Ed,” Becca said gently, standing up as well.

He fumed, then rolled his eyes again and grumbled, “Fine. Let’s go.” They trooped out of the office, Becca pushing the door open with her elbow to avoid her wrist. Ed peered pointedly at the tight wrap and asked, “Did that come from Scar?”

Becca’s eyes widened and she laughed nervously. “Well, ah, no, it didn’t. It’s actually kind of a funny story…”

\---

After Becca finished her story (and, of course, was sufficiently questioned by the Elrics about every detail of her interaction with Will), they ended up staying up late that night, just talking. It felt like a sleepover, whispering secrets in the light of the moon shining through the window, but really, there weren’t many secrets between the three of them anymore. Instead, they traded story for story about their childhoods, sticking to light hearted anecdotes after the day they’d had, and giggled like schoolchildren.

Al was regaling the first time Ed had tried to swim after getting automail when the first mention of their friend came up. “Then Winry had to jump in so Brother wouldn’t drown,” he said matter-of-factly. 

Ed, who’d already been the victim of a few embarrassing stories, swatted Al’s helmet playfully. “That one wasn’t my fault!” he insisted. “I was still figuring out how the automail would affect my center of balance.”

“And you thought the best way to do that was to try and walk across a pond on a fallen tree?” Becca asked teasingly. “I guess dumb older brothers are a running trend, huh?”

Ed pointed a lazy finger at her from his spot leaning against the opposite arm of the couch. “You don’t have a dumb brother, you have a murderous brother.”

Wordlessly, she tried to kick him, but due to their legs being tangled up on the center cushion, she missed and wound up banging her foot on his metal leg. She swore, glaring at the offending limb and pulling her foot back as both boys burst into laughter.

“If we’re all done mocking my pain...” she said after they’d calmed down, “tell me about Winry. What’s she like?”

“Well, she’s a gearhead.”

“Brother!”

Ed waved Al’s scolding tone off, indignantly protesting, “Well, I’m not wrong!”

“Winry and Granny are good people,” Al explained. “They helped us a lot before… before everything, and after, obviously.”

Becca hummed. “And you’re sure they won’t mind me tagging along?” She let her leg fall off the edge of the couch, swinging it thoughtfully. “I mean, Armstrong has a reason to come. I don’t, really. I don’t want to intrude.”

Ed furrowed his brows, and she could even feel a perturbed look from Al’s spot near the coffee table. “You won’t be intruding,” Al assured her. Ed, though, never one for flowery words, reached over to squeeze Becca’s shin. The little, supportive gesture made her smile, and she laid her hand on top of Ed’s.

“Alright,” she said, still a little doubtful but figuring she’d already killed the mood enough for one night. “So since you guys have always been so close, can I finally get excited about seeing a picture of Al?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you and your loved ones are all staying healthy and safe, and i'll see y'all in the next update -c


	11. aubade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy thursday, my dears!
> 
> i hope you all are doing okay in the wake of elections- i know i was glued to my tv all freaking night even though i knew we weren't going to get results. it's stressful, i know, but things are looking good, and one thing my dad told me was that sooner or later, this will end and we'll be able to progress again (also i hope you voted if you're of the age to do that).
> 
> either way, i actually expected this chapter to be a lot shorter since this isn't exactly my favorite plot point (and i'm excited to get to resembool) but i started writing and things just... got a little out of hand. and it was actually finished a few days ago but i really need to stay on a schedule so i don't drive myself and you guys insane, so i at least had a couple days head start on resembool which i'm trying to keep in one chapter, so that might end up as another long one; i like to think that's a good thing to look forward to.
> 
> alright, i know that's enough rambling from me, so let's just get into it, shall we?
> 
> aubade (noun)- a poem or piece of music appropriate to the dawn or early morning

Mustang contacted them late that night (or maybe early that morning) about their travel arrangements, the ringing jolting both Becca and Ed from their spots dozing on the couch. Ed untwined their legs and patted her knee, mumbling that he would get it and allowing her to curl back up against the arm she’d claimed, hovering on the edge of consciousness as she listened to Ed’s waspish exchange with Mustang. She couldn’t quite make out his words, but she heard when he hung up and groaned, “First goddamn train leaves at 5 am tomorrow.”

“You should get some rest then, Brother,” Al’s quiet voice responded.

“Yeah, I guess,” Ed said, then a beat, and then, “What should we do about her?”

_ Her? _ Becca thought vaguely.  _ Who’s ‘her’? _

Al said something in response, but it was too quiet for her to hear, but a thick, warm blanket was spread out over her body and she smiled, clutching the fabric closer and rolling over, content and comfortable enough to drift back to sleep, at least for a little while.

\---

“You guys couldn’t have woken me up?” Becca complained, rubbing her sore neck as they were hustled out of the barracks towards a waiting military car. She’d had a restless night after dropping off to sleep on the stiff couch in their room, and she knew Al wasn’t wasn’t exactly in the right state to physically move her, but seriously, was she that heavy of a sleeper? “Or at least given me a pillow?”

“You looked like you were fine,” Ed defended. “And Al said you didn’t sleep well the other night.”

She sighed, trying to sound annoyed rather than fond, but it was evidently unsuccessful since Ed merely smiled and shoved her playfully. The force, however, combined with his missing arm, unbalanced him and Becca’s unbandaged arm shot out, grabbing his sleeve to keep him from taking a tumble down the stairs.

“Oops,” Ed said, eyes wide. “Thanks, Bex.”

Becca waved him off. She reflexively reached over to brush a few specks of dust off his coat, then asked, “Speaking of Al, are you sure someone got sent to get him from the-”

Ed put a finger over his lips, silencing her before pointing behind them. She had to cover her mouth to hide a laugh at the sight of Al’s box being lugged down the stairs by a pair of struggling soldiers. “As far as they know, Al got sent ahead so he wouldn’t miss too much of his alchemy training-” Becca couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the excuse she’d insisted was pathetic that the boys had decided on for Al’s cover, “-but we have to transport his armour.”

“And they bought that?” she questioned.

“It seemed like they had bigger problems than the legitimacy,” he said, shrugging. “Like how they were going to fit the box in the car.”

They both glanced towards the waiting car, then back at Al and the soldiers, then at each other, and laughed. “I’m sure we’ll all get to Resembool in…” She paused, realizing that ‘in one piece’ might not be the most appropriate words at the moment, and continued, “in as many pieces as we’re leaving East City in.”

“Hey!” someone called from the car. They looked back at the bespectacled face stuck through the window nearest to the sidewalk, at Maes Hughes waving them over. Once he knew they’d seen him, he leaned back across the two front seats so he was behind the steering wheel by the time they reached the sidewalk.

“Good morning, Lieutenant Colonel,” Becca greeted as they approached the window. “What are you doing here? I thought MPs would be able to get us to the station, at least.”

“Morning, you two. The guys at Eastern Command are busy with the Scar reports, but I was getting ready to head back to Central anyway, so I figured I might as well see you off.” He thumbed backwards to the cab of the car and said, “Hop on in. I had the guys pull the third row seats out so there’s plenty of room for Al. Don’t dawdle, Major Armstrong is meeting us there.”

Ed opened the side door, allowing her in first, then either took pity on the soldiers still huffing and puffing down the stairs with Al or sensing an oncoming outburst of praise from Hughes, and ran around to the back so they’d be able to just slide in him in the back. As he pulled himself up into the cargo area and settled next to Becca, he rolled his eyes pointedly and remarked, “Yeah, I don’t think it’s us who’s dawdling.”

Becca ribbed him, careful of her own sprained wrist, then asked, “How’s your family, sir?”

Hughes didn’t seem phased by Ed’s sarcasm, merely chuckling and calling to the men, “Alright, you two, double time! Let’s get him loaded!” He twisted around, suddenly significantly less business-like and significantly more starry-eyed. “And Elicia has gotten so big since you all last saw her, and she just discovered that  _ she  _ can wear Mommy’s hats even if they’re too big on her-”

Next to her, Ed made a face and whispered, “You had to get him started, didn’t you?” 

Hughes kept babbling about his daughter and wife as he started the engine up and Al was perfectly still and silent until all the doors were shut and they’d started moving, when he twisted his head around as if to make sure it still worked, thus drawing Hughes’ attention to him.

“And good morning to you, Alphonse,” Hughes said.

“Good morning, sir!” Al chirped, sounding just as chipper as usual.

“So can I ask why exactly we’re stuck with Armstrong as an escort?” Ed said, quick to cut off another Elicia gushing session before it could start.

The lieutenant colonel only chuckled again and lightly said, “Let me see if I can’t remember everyone else’s excuse.” He tapped on the steering wheel as he tipped off each member of the team: “I’ll be on my way back to Central once I see you off, Roy can’t leave Eastern HQ and Hawkeye can’t leave Roy… and Havoc, Falman, Breda, and Fuery all said they didn’t think they would be of any use if Scar showed up again. So that leaves Armstrong. Plus, he did actually make a little headway against him yesterday. When you think about it, he’s really the best choice in terms of protection.”

“You can’t argue with that, Brother,” Al said.

“He’s right there,” Becca added, slowly coming around to the idea. “He might be a bit eccentric, but you know he can do a lot of damage.”

“Exactly,” Hughes said, pulling into a parking spot outside the station. “Here we are… and there’s Armstrong.” Indeed, Becca could peer out the window and see Armstrong’s broad chest and shoulders firmly above the heads of the civilians in the station, his golden curl barely swaying in the light wind caused by all the arriving trains. “Go around and open the back door while I go get him, won’t you?” Without waiting for an answer, Hughes popped the door open and waved the major down.

Ed practically bounded out of the car as well, eager to get to Resembool so they could get moving ASAP. While he started tugging Al closer to the back door so he’d be easier for Armstrong to reach, Becca went ahead and unloaded their luggage. However, she had barely managed to get everything out onto the sidewalk when she heard Ed’s indignant squawking from the back of the car, along with Armstrong’s deep wail.

Hesitantly, she poked her head around the corner to see poor Ed going steadily redder, squeezed tightly in Armstrong’s embrace. “I have heard all about you, Edward Elric!” he shouted, tearing up. “The pure love for your mother and brother- trying to save them both at the cost of your own limbs!” He sobbed openly, seemingly not noticing Ed gasping for air, and said, “I’ve been so moved!”

Ed pushed out of the man’s arms, keeping his own arm extended to keep Armstrong at a distance. Unfortunately, without Ed to distract him, Armstrong’s sight caught on Becca and her eyes widened only moments before she was embraced as well. “And Rebecca Harper! Tricked by your father for the sake of your beloved caretaker-”

Trying to be gentle, Becca slipped out of his arms, patting his shoulder consolingly, and mumbled, “There, there. Please don’t- um- cry.”

“Hughes, are you  _ sure _ this is necessary?” Ed complained as Armstrong pulled himself together and hoisted Al up onto his shoulder then forged ahead to make a path through the crowd for the other three to follow to the edge of the platform.

“He’s here to help, Ed,” Hughes reassured. “Just try to grin and bear it, okay?”

“Children,” Armstrong said, motioning to the steps up into their car. “Go on and board while I take Alphonse and the luggage to their car.”

“Huh?” Al asked.

Becca raised her brow. “Luggage?”

“Hang on, where are you putting him?” Ed demanded.

“Ah, right,” Hughes said a little guiltily. “Sorry, I forgot to tell you. Mustang decided it would be more cost efficient and less suspicious if Al travelled in the luggage car.”

Ed growled, his remaining fist curling up frustratedly. “Damn colonel,” he complained. Though he was unhappy, he bit his tongue until Armstrong had seen them get on the train and subsequently walked away. Once it was just them and Hughes, however, he leaned out the window and asked, “Does Colonel Must-nag realize what a big mouth he has? Does everyone in the city know about us?”

The lieutenant colonel shrugged helplessly. “Don’t be too hard on Roy. When the major wants to know something, he has a way of getting it out of you. Oh!” He tapped the side of his head, smiling genially. “I almost forgot. He told me to give you two a message.” He screwed his face into a stern expression- though, in Becca’s opinion, he looked rather constipated- clearly meant to mimic Mustang. “Quote, ‘Post-processing is such a pain, so remember that you are not permitted to die within my jurisdiction,’ end quote.” He relaxed, then added, “That’s it.”

Ed huffed, annoyed, and replied, “Tell him my response is ‘Roger that. Like hell I’ll die before you, Colonel Bastard’,” enunciating every word dramatically.

Becca giggled. “Same as him. If Mustang asks, he meant it more though.”

Hughes stared at them incredulously, then erupted in laughter. “They say the good die young, so I guess you’ll all live long lives, won’t you?”

Just then, the train whistled once, a warning call. Major Armstrong reappeared, looking rather pleased with himself as he boarded, sliding into the seat rather gracefully for a man of his size. “Edward, you’ll be pleased to know I’ve made sure Alphonse is well-taken care of during the journey.

“How so?” Ed asked, narrowing his eyes.

“The conductor was kind enough to allow me to place him in the livestock car!” Armstrong explained proudly. Becca, who had taken a long sip from her flask, choked in surprise. She could practically see steam pouring out of Ed’s ears. Armstrong seemed not to notice as he justified, “That way, he will not get lonely.”

“My brother’s not a farm animal!” Ed shouted furiously.

Armstrong harrumphed. “Children are so impossible to please.”

“I am not a child!”

“Ed,” Becca said, trying to calm him down since a few other passengers had turned in their seats and were staring at them. “Al will be fine. It’s not ideal, but I’m sure he’d prefer that to sitting by himself in the luggage car.”

The second, longer whistle sounded and Hughes stepped backwards as the train started to move. “Guess it’s time. Have a safe trip,” he said, walking alongside the steam engine, “and remember to drop a call if you’re ever up in Central.” He saluted the trio, and, upon receiving three salutes back (although Ed unfortunately had to use his left hand), raised his hand in a farewell gesture.

Once they were out of sight of the train station, it didn’t take long for Ed to begrudgingly settle down and cross his working arm across his chest. Becca smiled to herself at the image of the great Fullmetal Alchemist basically pouting, but playfully nudged his foot and teased, “Come on, Ed, aren’t you at least a little excited to see Winry and the others in your town?”

“Yes, I’ve never met an automail mechanic, so I am quite intrigued,” Armstrong said agreeably, leaning back and getting comfortable.

Unfolding from himself slightly, Ed corrected, “Technically, Winry and Granny Pinako are surgeons, engineers, physical therapists, and prosthetists all rolled up into one. They’ve been good to us before, so, hopefully they won’t mind doing a rush job.” He smirked. “If we’re lucky, she might even give us a deal.”

“And what sort of place is Resembool?” Armstrong asked.

“Ugh,” Ed said, rolling his eyes. “There’s nothing there. The guy who founded it wanted it to be a trading village where the farmers could sell their goods to merchants, so he built the train station and all the actual town buildings to be pretty big, but it never really got there. When the Eastern Civil War spread, Resembool took some serious hits, so now it’s basically a farming community. Lots of sheep.” He gave Armstrong a look. “Maybe if the army had done their jobs better, it would be different.”

The major looked away and mumbled, “I don’t particularly like the sound of that.”

“Should I go on?” Ed said sarcastically.

“There’s seriously nothing you like about it?” Becca asked doubtfully.

Ed hummed, then smiled softly, leaning against the window. “Well… it’s nice and quiet. There’s nothing there, but it has something a lot of the big cities always miss, you know?” He stretched his arm above his head, sighing, “Yeah. That’s Resembool.”

\---

Resembool was supposedly only a day’s train ride from East City, give or take a few hours. However, this trip could take longer, given the numerous stops they were scheduled to make along the way, the first of which was to a tiny village only two hours or so outside of East City. Ed had pulled his feet up onto the bench he and Becca were sharing before leaning against the rocking window. Becca and Armstrong were both reading their own books, the major sitting up ramrod straight and Becca perfectly perpendicular to him, backed up against the outer arm of their bench.

“Are you planning on visiting your home any time soon?” Armstrong asked out of the blue. “I’m sure Colonel Mustang would understand if you wanted to loop up to Adethal before you went back to East City.”

Becca bit her lip, then shrugged. “Nah. I don’t have much waiting for me back home, so I’m not in a rush to get back.”

“Forgive me for prying, but is your mother not in the picture? The Colonel informed me about your stepmother, and I knew your father was distant, but-”

She considered fibbing, but figured there wasn’t really a point in lying. “She’s still in the house, if that’s what you mean. Technically, I think it’s probably either mine or my brother’s house by birthright, but… well, my brother is obviously indisposed, and I don’t mind letting her stay there since she’s the one who actually wants it, even if we aren’t on great terms right now.” She thought for a moment. “Or ever. You know what? Now that I think about it, the house might actually be the military’s property since my dad put it up for collateral.” Upon looking over and seeing Armstrong’s stricken look, she frantically tried to calm him down, though that seemed to make it worse: “No, no, hey, it’s fine, I’m fine.” The man still looked like he was about to cry. She put her book down, pages on the wooden arm of her seat, and holding her one hand up calmingly while the other came to rest on Ed’s calf. “That just means I can do more with Ed and Al. Really, I don’t mind staying on the road.”

Finally, with that distraction, the major managed to stifle his emotions, growing somber once more. “So it’s true that they haven’t returned home since Edward was certified?”

“I think they made a quick stop right after, but pretty much, no,” Becca affirmed. She didn’t  _ think _ they’d come home briefly, she  _ knew _ they did, but she’d never pried for details on the subject, though she trusted they would have told her if she had. But that wasn’t her story to share, so all she needed was to satisfy Armstrong. And, as they rolled into the first train stop, it appeared he finally was. He crossed his arms, peering out the window as the train slowed. Becca naturally followed his gaze to a dark haired, slouched older man, but she still jumped when Armstrong lurched out of his seat. The quick movement spooked Ed as well and he was quick to whirl around and press his nose to the window to identify a possible threat.

“Dr. Marcoh!” Armstrong called out onto the platform. The man turned, looking confused and… surprised? Although, Becca supposed, she couldn’t exactly fault him for that. Being shouted at by anyone could shock someone, but Armstrong wasn’t just a normal person, and the reaction would obviously intensify. But then recognition flashed in his eyes and the natural surprise morphed into fear, and then abject terror as the major continued to shout, “It is you! Dr. Marcoh, it’s Alex Louis Armstrong! From Central!”

The man, presumably one Dr. Marcoh, bolted.

Becca leaned back to where she’d been reclining and asked, “A friend of yours?”

“Some friend,” Ed scoffed.

“I could have sworn that was him…” Armstrong said, trailing off. “Dr. Marcoh was a talented alchemist I worked with in Central years ago. He was researching the possibility of alchemy in a medical forum, but after Ishval, he vanished, along with all of his research.”

“Medical alchemy, huh?” Ed said thoughtfully, then stood up quickly. “Let’s get off here!” Before either Becca or Armstrong could question him, he was out the compartment door, waving down a conductor to get him to halt the train. “Sorry, unexpected stop! We’ve got to get our luggage!”

Becca groaned, then stood and hurried after him, tossing an additional, “Sorry!” over her shoulder as she jumped onto the platform, Armstrong only a few steps behind.

“I thought we were getting off in Resembool,” Armstrong said, confused.

“If that guy researches what you said he did, he might have some knowledge that could help us get our bodies back!” Ed explained in a hushed voice. His eyes shone with hope as he suggested, “Or maybe even something on the Philosopher’s Stone!”

“Becca considered his point for a moment, then nodded slowly. She supposed it was as good as any lead they’d been given, and so soon after a series of defeats, anything positive was sure to cheer Ed and Al up. “Okay, I’m following you. It’s definitely worth looking into.” She looked him up and down, then down at her own injured wrist. “But are you sure you don’t want to wait until we’re in… better condition?”

Ed paused for a second, looking pained but obviously considering Becca’s position. “What if he runs? You saw him, he looked scared…”

“Dr. Marcoh is a good man,” Armstrong said firmly. “I’ve never known the man to hurt a fly, you’d all be perfectly safe even if he doesn’t want to talk to us.”

“You’re sure?”

“Incredibly.”

He smiled, nudging Becca. “It’ll be fine, Bex. Major, will you get Al while we grab the luggage?”

\---

“Excuse me,” Becca said to yet another pedestrian. “Do you know where Dr. Marcoh lives?”

“Old guy? Brown hair?” Ed pressed, holding up a crude doodle of the man from the station.

The woman looked confused, then shook her head. “I don’t know him, sorry,” she said before walking away.

Frustration swelled in Becca once again and she took a long breath. Ed appeared to be in a similar state, pacing back and forth as he murmured to her, “This town is so small, there’s no way that  _ no one _ knows him. Do you think they’re all covering for him?”

“Maybe...” Becca said hesitantly. “But it could just be that he’s hiding. Maybe he didn’t actually come this way?”

They’d put their things down in the tiny town’s center square, Al sitting in his box on the edge of the cobble stone, and had tried to stop each person walking by to ask them about the runaway doctor. Armstrong had taken up a rather useless, though admittedly funny, position, sitting criss-cross on the grass near Al and scribbling in a notebook until he suddenly stood up, catching the next man before Becca or Ed could.

“Pardon me, have you seen this man?” he asked, holding up his notebook to reveal an impressive sketch of Dr. Marcoh. “He ran this way within the last half hour.”

Becca and Ed peered over his shoulder. Becca made an impressed sound while Ed gave a begrudging, “You’re a pretty good artist, Major.”

The major preened under the praise. “This is a demonstration of the art of portraiture that has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations,” he explained proudly.

One of the men Armstrong had handed the picture to finally snapped his fingers in recognition. “Oh! You mean you’re looking for Dr.  _ Mauro _ !”

“Mauro?” Armstrong asked. “No, no, he’s-”

“No, let’s hear him out,” Becca said quietly. “It’s the best lead we have.”

“Most of us are pretty poor around here,” another man explained. “We usually can’t afford real doctors, and any of the ones who were born here got pulled out during Ishval, but then Dr. Mauro came into town. He’s a good man and he doesn’t care about money or any of that.”

“He refuses to give up on anyone, even patients that the rest of us think can’t be saved!” his companion piped in.

A small crowd had gathered, and each person seemed to have something good to say about the doctor, healing sick children and elderly, helping with births, and even making sure his patients who needed to rest were able to by dropping by their home to help with household chores and organizing other volunteers to do what he couldn’t. But it was one exchange that really caught Becca’s attention, and by his head quickly swivelling towards the couple talking, she could tell it grabbed Ed’s too.

“I got my leg caught up in a tractor last year,” the man was saying. “It looked like I was a goner, but he fixed it right up!” He grinned, tapping his knee. “Just like new!”

“There was just a big flash of red light,” the woman next to him added, “and then you were healed!”

“Red light, huh?” Becca said quietly.

Ed shot a glance up at Al and Armstrong. “What did you say his address was again?”

\---

Gait uneven due to his missing arm, Ed bounded up the stairs to the door of a plain looking house. If there wasn’t a railing (and he didn’t look so damn excited) Becca might have told him to slow down or be careful, but she figured nothing too bad could happen when they were just visiting a doctor in his otherwise safe looking house.

Evidently, when Ed knocked on the door, calling out, “Hello? Dr. Marcoh?” and the barrel of a gun was suddenly pointing out at him, she figured she was wrong.

He barely had time to jump out of the way when Marcoh pulled the trigger.

“Ed!”

“Brother!”

“What the hell?”

Becca leaped up the remaining stairs, slamming the front door shut and pressing her back against it, staring at Ed with reflected wide, panicked eyes and heavy breathing.

“What did you come here for?” Marcoh shouted, muffled by the thick wooden door. “Are you here to take me back?”

“Dr. Marcoh, please calm down,” Armstrong called out.

“I don’t want to go back to Central- to them!” Marcoh continued, the door shaking as he rammed against it from the inside. “I won’t go back there! Just leave me be! I’m not hurting anyone!”

“We never said that!” Becca said pointedly, grinding her teeth as she dug her heels into the ground against Marcoh trying to escape. “We just had a few-”

“So you’ve come to kill me then?” the doctor demanded. One particularly hard shove from Marcoh made the door fly open, sending Becca stumbling into Ed’s chest and knocking them both off balance until she could steady herself by bracing her wrist on the railing and her good hand clutching his good arm, his hand gripping her upper arm in response. When she turned over her shoulder, Marcoh was still shaking in the doorway, the gun swinging frantically between all four of them. “To silence me!”

“No!” Armstrong said, sounding offended. “Now won’t you put down the gun-”

“You can’t fool me!”

Armstrong sighed, resigned, then snapped, “I said to calm down!” before easily tossing Al’s box through the doorway, knocking Marcoh off his feet as all three teenagers cried out in protest. The major didn’t seem phased, waving them forward. “Come along, children,” he said casually as he hoisted Al back up onto his shoulder.

Becca glanced back, intending to shoot Ed a confused look, but paused when she realized how they were still holding onto each other. They stared at each other for a moment until there was a thud from Armstrong setting Al down, jolting them apart.

Ed cleared his throat. “I- uh- should we-?”

“Yeah,” Becca said, patting his arm awkwardly. “Let’s-”

“Okay.”

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

\---

The air inside the doctor’s office was stifling, not from heat or humidity, but more of the continued unpleasantness from outside. They’d settled around a table Marcoh had cleared off, Marcoh, Armstrong, and Al each on their own sides and Ed and Becca sharing the one that remained.

“What are you doing here, Dr. Marcoh?” Becca asked softly after they’d sat in silence for a few moments. “Why go through all the trouble of fleeing Central, changing your name, and going into hiding with top secret research? What happened?”

For a few seconds, it seemed like Marcoh might just give them the silent treatment until they left, but then, hesitantly, he admitted, “I couldn’t take it anymore.” They waited for a bit longer, then, “Even though it was an order from the top, I refused to dirty my hands anymore by researching that… thing.”

“What thing?” Ed pressed.

“It- it took so many lives,” Marcoh stuttered. “During the civil war, so many innocents died because of it. I could never atone for what I’ve done- what I allowed to happen- but I have to try. That’s why I came here, to be a doctor and save lives rather than take them.”

“What is the thing you were researching?” Armstrong said. “And what did you escape with?”

Marcoh trembled visibly under all their gazes before he confessed, “I created Philosopher’s Stones.”

Everyone inhaled sharply. Ed tensed next to her and leaned forward over the table between him and Marcoh. Becca reached for his hand, squeezing tightly.

“I hid my research before I ran,” the doctor said, “and took an actual Stone when I left.”

Ed dropped her hand and was on his feet before Becca could blink. “You have one? Here? Now?”

Marcoh stalled, before looking away,  _ ashamed _ for some reason, and reaching into his jacket’s inner pocket, only to emerge with… a vial of red liquid? “Here it is.”

“That-” Becca said, furrowing her brow. Ed backed off, looking similarly confused. “That’s not a stone,” she said.

Wordlessly, Marcoh unplugged the vial’s stopper and tilted it towards the table. Ed, Al, and Becca all vocally protested, only to cut themselves off with strangled gasps as it kept its shape, forming an unsteady, but obviously round and cohesive mass on the tabletop.

“‘The Philosopher’s Stone’, ‘the Celestial Stone’, ‘the Great Elixir’, ‘the Red Tincture’, ‘the Fifth Element’,” Marcoh listed, then, as Ed leaned forward to poke at the gelatinous sphere, Becca made a face at the consistency, Al creaked, straining to try and get a closer look, and Armstrong rested his chin on his hand in order to examine it, explained, “Just like the Stone has many names, so can it come in many shapes.”

“So this is it?” Ed asked, awed.

Marcoh shook his head. “No. This is only an incomplete product. Although it is a powerful amplifier, we have no way of knowing when it will reach its power limit and become unstable or unusable. In other words, this particular sample is imperfect, and all others like it are missing a key ingredient.”

Ed glanced sideways at Al, then back at Becca. She nodded. They were all thinking about the same instances- Cornello, of course, and even back to MacDougal. Both of those must have been imperfect Stones. And Marcoh was right; they had been powerful, almost scarily so, but clearly close to the end of their lives by the time they’d heard about them.

“But it sounded like they were still pretty powerful in Ishval,” Becca observed.

“Even if they’re imperfect now, that means we could, theoretically, make a perfect one with some further research, right?” Ed asked, a tiny, hopeful smile starting to bloom on his face. He slammed his hand down on the table, practically surging towards the doctor. “Dr. Marcoh, please! We need access to your research materials!”

Marcoh merely stared at him. “Major?” he asked, turning to Armstrong. “Who, exactly, are these children? Have you taken on apprentices?”

“Ah, no,” Armstrong said. “These two are State Alchemists, Doctor. Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, and his partner, the Illusion Alchemist, Rebecca Harper. And that-” He gestured to Al, “- is Edward’s brother, Alphonse.”

“You can’t be serious,” Marcoh said, shocked. “I knew so many other alchemists who turned in their certifications after the Ishvalan Civil War because they didn’t want to be used as human weapons, even with all the privileges that probably drew you three in. And they allowed  _ children _ -”

“You think we wanted this?” Becca said derisively. “You think we wanted to be dragging our asses all over the country, constantly putting ourselves in danger?”

“Al and I knew it was a stupid decision!” Ed snapped.

“And I didn’t have a choice!” Becca said in the same tone.

“But we have goals we have to accomplish, and this is the only way!” Ed continued. “We knew what we signed up for when we started. If we’re making mistakes, so be it! It’s only on our own heads anyway.”

Marcoh’s eyes flicked between Ed and Al, connections forming behind his eyes. Slowly, horrified, he muttered, “What did you do?”

\---

“So you all committed the taboo.” Marcoh looked over to Ed, seemingly impressed. “You- you transmuted your brother’s soul. That’s… amazing. I didn’t know it was possible to summon a particular soul.” He turned to Becca. “And you- before Ishval, I worked with your father at the Academy. He was cunning. Ruthless, and cunning, and, if I’m honest, he never seemed happy with what he had. He always talked about wanting more. I imagine he would have drilled those values into you as well, but… never mind.” His eyes slid over the three of them, almost appraising them. “It’s clear you’re clever. With your combined skills, perhaps you could create a perfect Stone.”

“So you’ll let us-”

He held up a hand, cutting Ed off. “But I can’t show you my research.”

“What?” Ed said, face falling.

“Why?” Becca asked- no, more like whined, if she was being honest with herself.

“You cannot continue to pursue this thing,” Marcoh said sternly. “You  _ must  _ not!”

Ed’s expression hardened. “Not even to restore our bodies?”

“Never,” Marcoh insisted. “It is the devil’s research, and seeing its contents is not worth something so minor as your bodies.”

“Minor?” Becca said, incensed. “That’s minor to you?”

“Doctor, this truly isn’t fair,” Armstrong said, sounding a little indignant on their behalf.

“If you learn about it, the only place it will lead you is through hell!” Marcoh said harshly.

“I’ve already been through hell!” Ed shouted in response.

Marcoh looked genuinely heartbroken, and, for a moment, and it looked like he might actually give in and relent, but then his resolve hardened and he turned away. “I’m truly sorry. But my answer is still no. Please, just… go.”

Becca looked to Ed, who was still tightly wound up and standing ramrod straight.

“Brother?” Al asked.

Slowly, deliberately, Ed relaxed from the top of his head to his feet. “We’ve got to see about another train to Resembool,” he said tiredly, stepping away from the table.

Becca stood up and pushed her chair in. “Thank you for your time,” she said coldly.

Armstrong carefully moved around the table, avoiding Marcoh, and picked Al up again. They all trooped back out onto the little porch, starting down the stairs. It was only when they’d reached the dirt road and started their trek back through town to the train station that Becca hollowly joked, “We’ve gotten pretty bad at keeping that secret lately, haven’t we?”

Ed chuckled sadly, but gave no response.

“You’re really okay with just leaving?” Armstrong asked. “Even without the files, you probably could have taken the Stone by force and reverse engineered it in order to at least have a baseline.”

“I know,” Ed said bitterly, kicking a stone across the path. “In fact, I wanted it so bad I could practically taste it.”

“But we don’t want it badly enough to warrant taking away this town’s only doctor,” Al said.

“Yeah… I guess after meeting all those people who had stories about him, it might leave a bit of a bad taste in your mouth,” Becca supposed.

“Exactly,” Ed agreed. “We gained plenty just by learning that it definitely can be made. We had our suspicions, but it’s nice to have them confirmed so we know it isn’t a total wild goose chase. We’ll just have to keep looking for another way, right?”

“Right,” Al said.

“Marcoh can’t be the only one who ever researched the Philosopher’s stone anyway, right?” Becca said, shrugging. “Maybe when we’re back in the city we can ask the colonel for a list of his colleagues.”

Ed nodded fimly, then craned his neck up to question Armstrong. “What about you? What are you going to report back to Central?”

The major gestured around at the surrounding village carelessly. “I met a simple, small-town doctor named Mauro today,” he said. “I see no need to report that to the higher ups.”

All of them laughed a bit at the shared secret.

“What a long road we’ve gotten ourselves stuck on,” Ed said, running his hand through his hair.

Becca nodded and opened her mouth to agree, but running footsteps from behind them made her glance over her shoulder. Her jaw dropped.

“Wait!” Dr. Marcoh was shouting as he ran towards them.

“Doctor?” Ed said, surprised. “What are you doing here?”

The doctor slowed to a stop, bent over to catch his breath. Still panting, he offered Ed a clean, white, sealed envelope. “Here,” he said. “This is where I hid my research before I fled Central.” Reverently, Ed accepted the paper, holding it to his chest protectively. Marcoh warned, “If you’re sure you won’t regret learning the truth, look there. Perhaps you will be able to find the truth within the truth.” He looked around furtively. “Now, get out of here. I’ve said too much.” He turned quickly, waving over his shoulder. A little awkwardly, he offered, “I hope you will get your bodies back some day, Elric brothers,” then, to Becca, “and that you can end up more content in life than your father, Miss Harper.”

Stunned, it took Becca a moment to process the sudden turn of events, but once she saw Ed bowing out of the corner of her eye, she instinctively followed suit. After Marcoh was sufficiently far enough away so it wouldn’t be embarrassing, however, she straightened up, not bothering to hold back a triumphant smile and practically leaping over to hug Ed. He laughed giddily, throwing his working arm around her shoulders as well.

“What are we still doing here?” he said excitedly. “Come on, we’ve gotta get to Resembool, and then- then-”

“Yeah, what does it say, Brother?” Al asked. “Where are we going next?”

“Let’s see!” Using his teeth, Ed went ahead and ripped the note open. Becca helped him to tug the letter from the empty envelope and he flipped the remaining paper open as she crumpled it into her pocket. “It says… ‘National Central Library, First Branch’.”

“Huh. Hiding a tree in a forest, I suppose,” Armstrong remarked.

“More like hiding a tree branch in a forest,” Becca said, pressing her lips together. “That library is massive. It’ll be a chore to find anything in there, especially if we’re trying to stay incognito, which I assume we will.”

Ed grinned, starting off towards the station again. “Who cares how long it takes? We’ve got another clue about the Philosopher’s Stone!” he said victoriously.

“It’s not a dead end after all,” Al said.

Becca felt like dancing rather than walking through town, but she settled for just giggling and jumping up to knock on Al’s helmet before chasing Ed down to ruffle his hair. He shouted in protest, automatically trying to retaliate and starting an intense game of tag between the two of them until they were finally boarding the train to Resembool.

Their new route would require one train switch in the middle of the night rather than going straight through like the one from yesterday, but the steamer they’d boarded had just come from Central, so they weren’t totally alone. They couldn’t discuss too much about what the game plan was to be, meaning they all had to take it easy for at least the next few hours.

However, Becca thought as they sank down onto two empty benches (with Al sat between them this time, so Ed wouldn’t have a conniption), one perk of late nights was that it made relaxing significantly easier. She yawned.

“Did you two not sleep any more on the way here?” Al asked.

“Oh, you know I can’t always sleep while we’re travelling. Not like your brother over there,” she said, playfully thumbing towards Ed.

Ed, on the other hand, looked genuinely concerned. “Maybe you should try to get some sleep if you’re still tired,” he said, then grinned. “After all, you’ll need as much rest as possible for decoding Marcoh’s research!”

She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t push back a fond smile of her own. “Alright, alright, I’ll try.” She kicked her legs up on the bench, nudging Ed’s thigh. “Move or adjust, Edward.”

He let out a huffing laugh, moving her bent knee so he could mimic her position, their legs brushing up against each other as Becca slid down the barrier at the end of the seat. Ed pulled out his travelogue and a pencil, no doubt planning on scribbling down a coded entry about their unplanned stop and meeting with Dr. Marcoh, but he paused when Al asked, “Brother?”

“Yeah, Al?”

“Could you reach in here and grab my book?”

Instinctively, Ed obeyed, then stopped, furrowing his brow suspiciously when he went to hand it off to Al.

Al chuckled guiltily. “Since it’s already out… would you mind reading some?”

Becca bit back a mischievous giggle of her own. Everyone who knew them thought Al was perfectly innocent, but she knew better. Although she thought his primary goal was probably getting Ed to relax along with her, she didn’t ignore the self-serving perk Al would be getting as a secondary perk.

“Ugh, you- you-” He looked over to Becca for support and she only shrugged helplessly.

“Al was by himself for the first leg of this trip,” she said. “He might have been bored.” She raised an eyebrow pointedly. “And lonely.”

That was the cincher. Ed groaned loudly, leaning back, but opened to the marked page and starting from the top. “‘He was aware there were numerous wonders of this world’,” he read, “‘including the unexplained creations of humankind that showed the wonder of our ingenuity…’”

As the train finally picked up some speed, Becca closed her eyes and let herself get lost in the story and Ed’s steady voice until she finally dropped off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you and your loved ones are all staying healthy and safe, and i'll see y'all in the next update! -c


	12. chrysalism

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy freaking thursday my dears!
> 
> anyone know the tiktok sound that goes like: 'don't do it girl' 'i wasn't gonna do it, girl, i was just thinking about it'... 'i did it'? that was pretty much my thought process concerning the length of this chapter. i kinda started outlining and i said 'oh this is gonna be a long one'.
> 
> if you're not into character driven bits... sorry bout it. this one and the next one are gonna be pretty character driven, but hopefully after that we'll be at the fifth lab and things will become a little more exciting. the next chapter is also shaping up to be shorter just based on the outline, but i guess that'll just depend on how much i ramble.
> 
> in other news, we've been doing half and half school but we just passed 40 positive tests sooo... if this doesn't last longer, hopefully i'll have more time for writing. if it doesn't, i might have to slightly adjust the update schedule, but for real, this is the most positive/calming thing my life right now (esp interacting with my readers), so i really don't want to do that. as we must do with everything right now, i'm playing it by ear, and i'll try and keep y'all updated as much as i can.
> 
> chrysalism (noun)- the amniotic tranquility of being indoors during a thunderstorm, listening to waves of rain pattering against the roof

Blue skies and green grass as far as the eye could see; that was how Becca would describe Resembool upon first impression. Occasionally, she observed, there’d be a dotting of white, either sheep or clouds, and Ed had been correct in his description that the buildings nearest to the train station were bigger than expected, but once they’d gotten off the cobblestone-paved roads and onto dirt paths, the little town was spread out over the entire Amestrian countryside. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

“Jeez, you’d think you’d never had fresh air before,” Ed said sarcastically.

“I mean, this is probably the only temperate wide open space I’ve ever been,” Becca pointed out. “Otherwise we’ve just been to cities or places like Liore, which aren’t nearly as nice.”

“I guess it isn’t hot right now like it is in the summer,” Al said. “In June and July it can be miserable.”

“Question: can we hang out outside if it stays this nice?” Becca asked, twirling around on the ball of her foot. “Follow up question: while outside, will I be able to pet a sheep?”

Al giggled. “You’ve really never been quite so out in the open before, huh?”

“I was sheltered, sue me,” she said.

“Lucky for you, most of the neighbors aren’t overprotective of their flock,” Ed said. “I’m sure you’ll get to touch a sheep.”

Becca pumped her fist gleefully. “This trip is already worth it.”

\---

In Becca’s opinion, the trip got even better when she heard a dog barking excitedly. Yes, her heart rate might have spiked a bit, but when the thin, black dog with an automail from leg came jumping around Ed and pushing his snout into his hand, her heart slowed and she gave a breathy, relieved laugh.

“Who’s this?” she asked, bending down to offer a hand for the dog to sniff. She laughed again when she snuffled hurriedly, then jumped on Becca as well, letting Becca scratch around her ears and face, then down her neck and back. “I guess she’s pretty familiar with you guys?”

Ed patted the top of the dog’s head fondly, introducing, “This is Den, she belongs to-”

“Well, well, aren’t you two looking lively?” an old woman’s voice cut him off. Standing in front of a sign reading ‘Rockbell Automail’ near a two story house was an extremely short woman smoking a pipe. 

Ed grinned. “Granny Pinako,” he finished, then raised his hand and his voice in greeting. “We need your help again, Granny!”

The stout woman met them halfway, exasperatedly commenting, “Oh dear. What did you boys get yourselves into this time?”

“A lot has happened,” Ed said, shrugging. “We got a little banged up.”

“Banged up enough to need an escort, hm?” Pinako said skeptically. “I’m sure you’ll be willing to fill us in on everything over supper.”

Den woofed and ran over to Al’s box once Armstrong had hefted him off of his shoulder, so Becca straightened up, brushed off her pants, and stuck out her hand, remarking, “Yeah, I wouldn’t get your hopes up for that. I’m Becca Harper, Ed’s partner.”

“And this is Major Alex Louis Armstrong,” Ed said as the major rolled his shoulder to stretch it before offering the woman a hand as well.

Pinako shook with a surprisingly firm grip, introducing, “Pinako Rockbell, nice to meet both of you.” She turned to Ed, looking him up and down. Her eyes flickered between him and Armstrong a few times before she remarked, “And I know I haven’t seen you in a while, Ed, but- well, you’ve gone and grown smaller, haven’t you?”

Becca forced back a laugh as Ed grunted, forcing a patient smile. “That’s not how it goes, Granny,” he said through gritted teeth. “You’re supposed to say ‘look at how big you’ve gotten lately, Ed’.”

“But why would I say something that’s so obviously untrue?” Pinako shot back.

“I’m still taller than you, you mini-hag!” he snapped, taking a deep breath like he was going to go on a rant until-

CLANG!

Becca backed up quickly, tripping over Al’s box and landing hard on her back as Ed reeled and collapsed. It was only after Becca had poked her head over the edge of the box that she saw the weapon- a simple wrench, apparently thrown.

“Edward!” someone called from the top level of the house. Becca looked up to see a blonde haired teenager, coveralls tied around her waist and a green handkerchief holding her hair back, leaning over the balcony railing. Standing up slowly, Becca realized that this must be their automail mechanic, Winry, not a teenaged assistant or apprentice. A wrench being her weapon of choice was only one clue, but what sealed the deal was the casual, scolding tone she took so easily with Ed: “I thought I told you to call before coming for repairs!” A regular citizen wouldn’t dare mess with the famed Fullmetal Alchemist, at least not one they’d ever met, but a childhood friend rebuking one irresponsible Edward Elric? Fair game in Becca’s book.

“What the hell, Winry?” Ed shouted. “Are you trying to kill me or something?”

Winry laughed brightly, unfazed. “Welcome back, you two!”

Despite herself, Becca bit her lip against a small smile, holding back another laugh of her own, especially when she went to hoist Ed to his feet and caught the end of his resentful mutter of, “Yeah, right. Some welcome.”

Getting everyone inside was fairly easy, and Pinako was quick to offer them all drinks, insisting she had a pot of coffee going at pretty much all times with two automail engineers working frequent long hours. But then they had to pry Al’s box open, letting all the pieces they’d gathered from the scene of the fight with Scar from both Ed’s arm and Al’s body spill onto the carpet, and Winry let out a wail of despair.

“What did you do to my automail?” she demanded.

“Oh, yeah, it’s a little smashed up,” Ed said, taking a sip of his coffee.

“‘A little smashed up’, are you kidding? Look at what you did to my beautiful creation, I slaved over this arm!”

“Hey, we think we got all the parts,” Ed said defensively. “Right now, it’s just like what I had, just in smaller pieces… and mixed in with some of Al… and some of the parts are probably broken.”

Becca winced. Even she knew that was the wrong thing to say, and she couldn’t say she blamed Winry for hitting Ed with a wrench again.

“So, Al, are you a little smashed up too?” she questioned sarcastically as he cowered away from her. She sighed, kneeling down beside the pile of metal and starting to sort through them. “Just what are you guys getting into lately?”

“We were in a fight, so what?” Ed grumbled, hauling himself back onto the couch. “That’s not anything new.”

“Yeah, it’s been pretty normal lately,” Al agreed. However, his voice, already an octave or so higher than Ed’s, went up even more, a sure sign he was lying. Winry scowled, hitting Al with the wrench as well.

She huffed, affronted. “Gee. All you two ever do is worry me.”

Becca knelt as well, starting to sort a different part of the pile into parts from Ed’s arm and Al’s body. If she couldn’t fix them, at least she could make a little progress.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I forgot to introduce myself,” Winry said upon noticing her. “I’m Winry, Winry Rockbell.”

“Becca Harper,” she replied carefully. “I don’t suppose I need to be concerned about…”

“This?” Winry asked, swinging her wrench proudly around her finger, then giggled, “Nah, that’s just for people who’ve earned it by being stupid.”

“Hey!” Ed protested. “Less talking, more building if you wouldn’t mind? We do actually have places to be.”

“We got a lead on the way here,” Becca explained, trying to quell Winry’s wounded look, then shot Ed a stern look. “There’s research that could help the boys restore their bodies in Central Library, so-”

“So you’re anxious to get there as soon as possible, huh?” Pinako asked, knocking some ash out of her pipe before pulling a stool over to measure Ed’s legs side by side. “I see.”

Ed looked away, looking a bit guilty as he tugged off the upper layer of his clothes until he was just in a tank top and undershorts. Becca took his extra things and hung his coat up on a hook by the front door, near where they’d put their shoes. “I- yeah. It’s kind of a rush order.”

Tutting, Pinako muttered, “Well, at least it’s not just  your arm. Your leg needs some work too.”

“Oh, wow, you can grow,” Winry said mockingly. “Maybe your growth  _ isn’t _ totally stunted.”

“Shut up!”

“Come on, Ed, I think she earned a couple jabs,” Becca said diplomatically.

“Don’t you go joining her side-!”

“Leg aside,” Pinako interrupted, tapping Ed’s knee as if to test a reflex. “We’ll have to start from scratch on the arm.”

Sufficiently contrite again, Ed kicked his other leg childishly. “Is there any chance you could have it done in a week?” he asked hesitantly.

Pinako rolled her eyes, blowing out a puff of smoke. “Come on, Ed, give us a bit of credit. Three days.” She crossed the room to an abandoned work desk, hiking a stiff temporary leg onto her shoulder. “Unfortunately, in the meantime, you’ll have to use this spare.”

The leg was fastened into Ed’s port, and, though he got up quickly, he only made it a few steps before stumbling. Becca was quick to swoop in and offer her arm for support, allowing him to steady himself. “I- uh- it’s a little hard to walk on a leg I’m not used to,” he said, cheeks a bit pink.

“With any luck, you’ll have your regular one back before you can get used to it,” Pinako said.

“Three days, huh?” Winry said to herself, picking up the abandoned leg in one hand and the parts from Ed’s arm wrapped in a piece of canvas in the other. “With designing, machining, assembling, and finishing… that’s three all-nighters.”

“I’m sorry for the trouble,” Ed said quietly. “I know you have other customers-”

Winry stopped him quickly, wagging her finger in his direction. “No, no, no, if you want to get to Central quickly, I’ll work my butt off to get you there! But you better believe you’re going to have a hell of a bill in rush order fees.”

Becca, still with Ed on her arm, nudged him teasingly. “So much for that deal.” she noted.

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Ed said, rolling his eyes.

\---

Pinako had forced everyone to sit down for a quick lunch before they all dispersed. Winry disappeared to her own workshop upstairs and her grandmother took over the dining room table. At Al’s suggestion, he, Ed, and Becca, followed by Den, decided to sit outside, both to take the time to rest as well as to get out of Winry and Pinako’s way. Armstrong helped them to lean Al against a spare barrel to be pecked at by some chickens, but ultimately decided that he’d earn his bed for the night and chop up some wood. Of the teens, on the other hand, Ed opted to sprawl out on his back in the grass, Becca flopped down next to him, and Den curled up between them.

“So this is really a break, huh?” Ed said petulantly. “We actually don’t have anything to do.”

“Isn’t it at least a little nice, Brother?” Al asked.

Ed set his jaw, then whined, “I don’t do ‘breaks’!”

“Oh, we know,” Becca said, reaching over to pet Den again. “You can hardly sit through a long train ride most of the time.”

A window creaked open from the top floor and Winry stuck her head out. “Hey, Becca?”

Becca sat up, tilting her head back to see Winry upside down. “What’s up?”

“Would you mind taking Den for a quick walk whenever you get a chance?” she requested. “I’d make Ed, but I think he’d get left in the dust.”

“Hey!”

Becca held up a thumbs up. “No problem!” she assured, turning to Den. “We’ll have a very good time, won’t we girl?” she said cheerily. Den panted happily, her tail wagging, and Becca scratched behind her ears a bit while laying back down.

“How are you already spoiling her?” Ed asked.

“I always wanted a pet when I was little, but we weren’t allowed,” Becca said. “My dad said they’d be too distracting.” She moved her hand under Den’s chin, making her drum one foot against the ground, and laughed. “And he might have been right,” she cooed. Den woofed again, hopping up, then shook herself wildly and trotted off down the path. “Though I guess we’re walking now,” Becca said, pushing herself back up. “You wanna come, Ed?”

Ed waved her off. “No, I’ll stay here,” he dismissed. “Winry’s right, Den would leave in the dust.”

She chuckled, waving back over the shoulder. “Alright, I’ll be back in a while then.” She jogged to catch Den, but the dog seemed to take that as an invitation to race and she ended up sprinting down the hill after her to the tune of Ed and Al’s laughter.

\---

Thankfully, Den slowed down after she’d tired herself out and instead trotted near Becca’s feet, although she would occasionally bound ahead to terrorize a poor butterfly or rabbit. Becca almost had to laugh at the mundane scene. Just barely two days ago they’d been huddled in the streets of East City, each and every one of them on the staring death in the face, and yet here they were, living to fight another day. And another, and another. And with a little dog ambling along next to them nonetheless.

“What do you think, Den?” she said thoughtfully as they strode past the fence at the edge of the Rockbell property, “How much help do you think that info in Central will be?”

Den only snuffled against her palm in lieu of a response. Becca chuckled, then sighed, tilting her head back and letting the sun shine over her closed eyes. The feeling, while comforting, only served to remind her of Will, of his dark coat disappearing around the corner. “He was watching us, Den. Well, more watching me, I guess- but seriously, for months? Can you believe that? I mean honestly, doesn’t he have better things to do?”

(Past an open field. Past a barn. Past a flock of sheep grazing around a little pond.)

She sighed, opening her eyes, squinting against the bright sunlight and barely clouded sky. “...He saw Scar and… that whole mess.” Den nuzzled against the back of her legs as she continued to talk to herself, too busy to really take into account where she was being led.

(Her subconscious, however, was a different story.)

(Past a pair of men walking towards the flock of sheep, each chortling at them and patting Den’s head affectionately.)

“You think he would have stepped in or just… let someone else take care of me?” she wondered aloud.

Den barked.

Becca nodded wisely. “Yeah, I don’t think so either.” She couldn’t hold back a bitter smile, huffing loudly. “And look at me- trying to get advice from a dog.” The dog in question woofed again, sounding indignant, and Becca laughed tightly. “Sorry, girl. You’re very smart. I’m sure you’d be helpful if you could talk.”

(She blocked out the memory of a talking dog-

_ Big Brother Ed _ -

No, not yet. She wasn’t ready to face that yet.)

(Past a squat man and a donkey carrying a swath of hay.)

“He never did specify where he’d been living,” she continued after a few minutes. “He said he was with Ishvalans, but-” She stopped herself, then glanced down at Den, who was staring wide eyes back at her. “You’re right. I would have said that there weren’t any of them left, but obviously that’s not true.” She looked forward again, finally actually looking around. Apparently, she’d been talking to herself for a significant enough amount of time that the sun was starting to set. “Makes you think about how little you really know about the world.” She shook her head, trying to clear the melancholy mood that had fallen over her. She pasted a cheery smile on and asked, “Should we head home?”

Apparently agreeing, Den bent her nose low to the ground and took off, sniffing along the path back towards the Rockbells’ shop. Becca was quick to follow, trusting that she knew her way back better than Becca-

(Past an old woman with a cart full of flowers, and then… a little graveyard.)

-And then, at a fork in the road at the base of a hill, where Becca could see the Rockbell house, she suddenly took a wrong turn.

“Den- hey!” Becca protested. Even though she wasn’t moving particularly fast, Becca had slowed her pace from a brisk walk to more of a leisurely stroll, and, as a result, it took her a few seconds to catch up and try to grab Den, and even then, the dog whined incessantly, straining in her arms until Becca had to let her go. She dashed ahead, then looked back at Becca. Hands on her hips, Becca only raised her eyebrow in response, but Den kept  _ staring _ at her and she could practically  _ see _ a wide-eyed, pleading expression like one that would be right at home on a child’s face, and then, before she could stop herself, “Okay, fine, but if anyone asks why we’re late, I’m blaming you,” and she was jogging to draw level with her.

The hill was steep, not enough to actually inhibit their progress, but enough so that she couldn’t tell exactly what was at the top until they’d nearly reached the crest. Once she’d seen it, though, Becca froze.

All it took was one look at the charred bits of wood sticking straight up, still just barely attached to their foundations, and she knew she shouldn’t be here.

Den barked insistently at her, evidently not sharing Becca’s hesitation at the scene. Becca shook her head. “No way,” she whispered (for it felt a bit wrong to raise her voice), then whistled lowly, tapping her thigh in an effort to get Den to come back. “Come on, girl, let’s go home,” she said in a faux light tone.

Looking as unimpressed as a dog could look, Den plodded back down the hill, and, for a moment, Becca thought that maybe they’d be able to turn around and leave like nothing happened, like she hadn’t seen the charred remains of someone’s humble home. Then Den looped around her, bumping the back of her legs, and suddenly she was stumbling forward with a strangled gasp.

“Bex?”

_ Oh, God. _

Lightning quick, threads were connecting in Becca’s mind- the scorched wood and earth; the untended fence near the property line; the reason Ed and Al hadn’t returned to their home in years; and why, when they finally did, they stayed at a friend’s house.

And in the middle of it all, leaned up against the remnants of the large tree, his expression mirroring Becca’s as in they both looked like they’d been caught doing something wrong, was Ed. His braid was loose from the normal wear of the day and one sleeve of his coat hung empty at his side, but he still managed to stand.

“Ed, I-” She tried to think of something to say, but could really only land on the inevitable, “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t know, and Den-”

His eyes, she suddenly noticed, weren’t angry, or hurt, or even just cross, though they did abruptly widen in surprise at the apology, then softened, a small, sad smile alighting his face. Becca blanched, but Den yipped and abandoned Becca in favor of jumping around Ed once she’d seen that he wasn’t upset. A little hesitant, Becca followed, hiking up the remaining few yards until she had taken up her normal spot on Ed’s left side.

“I really didn’t know you were up here,” Becca said after a few moments.

Ed let out a dry chuckle. “I believe you. I didn’t even tell Al I was coming up here, I was just- I was at our mom’s grave and I…”

“Wandered?” she suggested.

“Exactly.”

They lapsed into quiet once more. Even Den had grown solemn, sitting down and cocking her head at the former house. Slowly, Becca reached down, a little piece of burnt wood disintegrating as she picked it up. The remaining ash blackened her fingertips and she stood, biting her lip. Her admittedly obvious question hung in the air between them.

“We wanted to make sure we couldn’t backtrack on our word.”

“Huh?”

“Al and I,” Ed clarified. “We agreed. Until we regained our bodies and fixed our mistakes, we weren’t going to come back. So we decided we’d make it so we didn’t have anywhere to come back to,” he rubbed the back of his neck, averting his gaze from the wreckage to the ground, “and we burned it to the ground the day we got the news I’d received my certification. Not like anyone was going to be using it anyway.”

As he stared at where ashes had fallen from her hand, Becca turned, not enough to look at him straight on, but so that he wasn’t in her peripheral and she could truly read his profile. With the sunset casting a golden orange tinge on everything, he was practically glowing despite the sun being at his back. Not painfully like the sun off the desert sand in Liore either. Not even how she’d noticed her facial features or the details of Al’s helmet tended to sharpen in contrast to brightness washing them out. No, she decided. Ed looked… soft. Which was a strange word to assign to Edward Elric, who always seemed to project this aura of harsh edges and stern eyes- not always angry, but always hard, always guarded. 

(She knew it was rare to see him crumpled in defeat, but this side of him, she thought, was rarer. Pensive rather than fiery and proud. And what a privilege it was to be witness to it.)

Without thinking about it, she reached out, just barely touching as she entwined their fingers. Not quite holding his hand, but showing she was there. They stood in silence for a few seconds before he moved slightly to find a better grip on her fingers- still innocent, still careful. When she squeezed in support, he smiled hopefully, exposing half his face to the sun as he faced her fully.

(He was beautiful, she realized. And she didn’t even want to think about any implications of that beyond an aesthetic appreciation. No, thank you.)

She remembered long nights in the years after Will had left- struggling to keep up with the merciless lessons from her father and endless expectations from her mother while she tried to help with Louisa’s declining health, grief, and eventual death; the work leading up to the transmutation; the long, hopeless nights before she was summoned to East City, trying to make ends meet on the bare bones of her mother’s inheritance; staying up on the train and in her hotel room to prepare to plead her case, then trying to cram as much last minute studying that she could until the moment she entered the testing room. Through it all, she recalled, she’d always had to rely on lamps, whether it be the standard ones in military barracks, or the dim lights of the train, or the one with Louisa’s favorite stained glass lampshade that still sat on the long, scuffed oak desk Louisa had bought second hand and that Will and Becca had pushed into a corner of the living room alongside an groaning bookshelf, claiming it as their study. And they all seemed to share the same soft glow that Ed was almost emitting right now, pushing her through each night, each hardship. Sometimes frustrating, on the nights where she was desolate and disheartened and just wanted to give in and go to sleep, but always constant, and always there for her whenever she needed it.

The wind picked up and Den whined, startling both of them. Her gaze fell to their interlocked digits and she frowned a bit before gently prying her fingers away. Ed’s white glove had been tainted with dark ash from Becca’s fingertips, leaving a mark of where they’d touched. She flinched. Hopefully  _ that  _ didn’t become somehow symbolic.

She glanced back up, running an anxious hand through her messy curls, fallen clean out of their also messy bun that she’d slept in and making a note to run a comb through them when she got the chance, but shot Ed a small smile. “We should probably get back.”

Ed glanced back over the blackened remains one more time, but nodded. “Yeah. Everyone’s waiting.”

\---

They’d set off quietly, both apparently lost in thought, and it wasn’t until they were at the bottom of the hill and the Rockbell Automail shop was within view that Becca finally broke it with a simple, “Hey, Ed?”

“Yeah?”

“Hypothetically,” she started, “if we were to run into Scar again, what’s the plan?”

Ed made a face, wrinkling his nose. “Well, not whatever happened last time. Mustang was right about one thing- we can’t let him kill us.”

“Glad to hear that option’s no longer on the table,” Becca noted sarcastically.

Ed stuck his tongue out at her, then continued, “Hopefully he heard about what happened with MacDougal and the Fuhrer in Central and he’ll steer clear-” Despite the warmth of the evening, Becca shivered remembering that interaction, “-but even if he doesn’t, I’m hoping we’ll be too busy with Marcoh’s research to be out in the city an excessive amount, and he’d be an idiot to infiltrate a military building with everyone on such high alert looking for him.”

“And I guess we’ll just keep trying to get stronger until we see him again?” Becca asked, confused. That was one downside to always being on the road. Of course, they sparred with each other, but you could only spar someone so many times before you got to know their style and it was more ‘fighting with Ed’ and less ‘preparing for a fight with a stranger who could blow your head off with a touch’.

“I was thinking about that the other day, and I wondered… maybe Al and I should try and contact our old teacher. She could definitely help us develop some new skills…” He gulped, playing with the end of his braid and going noticeably paler. “Assuming she doesn’t kill us first.”

Becca gave him the same strange look that always came when either brother talked about their teacher. They’d always express what seemed to be genuine fear before waving off any of Becca’s concern and assuring her that their teacher, one Izumi Curtis, was the best. She’d long since stopped trying to understand the boys’ relationship with her, but she wasn’t sure how much of a position she was in to judge, considering her mentor had actually tried to kill her, so maybe teachers like that weren’t overly out of the ordinary. She’d never touted him as “the best” of anything, though, and she couldn’t help a small pit of apprehension from forming in her gut at the prospect of meeting the Elrics’ teacher.

“You could hold off on that at least until after we’ve finished with Marcoh’s research,” she said instead. “Who knows how long that could take, and, from what you’ve said, your teacher doesn’t seem like she’d be all for unsure deadlines.”

Ed visibly relaxed, grinning brightly. “You are absolutely right! She would hate it if we told her we were coming and then we were late. Thanks, Bex!”

“That is not an excuse not to let her know before we come if we end up-”

“Oh, hey, do you smell that? Granny must have made stew-”

“Edward, you can’t just avoid the problem- don’t try and run with that leg, you’ll just end up-”

“Gah!”

Of course, picking Ed up from where he’d tripped due to his stiff leg with Den sniffing around him to make sure he wasn’t injured ended up drawing both Armstrong and Pinako outside, but they were all herded inside with minimal fuss at the prospect of a hot meal. Al was sat in the corner of the dining room/spare workroom judging by the bits of metal scattered around a cleared and set table, and Winry came down, exchanging a few words of pleasant, albeit hurried conversation with the rest of them while Pinako brought out- true to Ed’s nose- a hefty pot of stew before taking a bowl and heading back upstairs to continue working. And after the meal, when Becca’s offer to help wash up had been firmly rejected by Pinako, she and Ed were shooed off to one of the two spare rooms on the first floor- normally reserved for patients recovering from surgery, but functional as bedrooms, with bed pushed up against two opposite walls with a curtain that could be pulled around each of them for privacy purposes when there were actual patients- with firm orders to get to sleep. Arguably, those rooms were even plainer than the barracks, but they still felt… cozier, perhaps due to the family that occupied the rest of the house.

Someone had already moved their suitcases from the living room, each placed on one of the beds, and somehow, that small gesture set Becca over the edge. She couldn’t stop a fond smile from blooming on her face, and she said, “They’re so nice.”

“Yeah, they’re alright.”

As she pulled out her pajama pants, Becca decided she’d make something for breakfast tomorrow, assuming she’d be up earlier than everyone else anyway. However, for now, she just pulled the curtain shut so she could change. She usually kept the tight white undershirt she wore during the day on for sleep, though she had a few extras in case of any especially chaotic days where it might have gotten dirtier than usual, and exchanged her straight-legged trousers for a looser, softer material and her tan jacket for an old, plum colored knitted cardigan. She was in the process of carefully coaxing the hair tie from her hair with the thin end of a comb when she heard a small thump and a swear from the other side of the curtain and was on her feet in an instant, throwing the damn thing open to reveal Ed sprawled out on the floor, having successfully gotten out of his red coat but apparently stuck with his arm halfway out of his black jacket. Becca let out a breath, crossing the room to help him sit up.

Ed huffed, still trying to shrug the jacket off. “See, that’s what I hate about automail. It gets damaged and I can’t do a damn thing by myself.”

“You know you can just call and I’ll come help you, right? You don’t need to hurt yourself.”

He turned away and mumbled, “You were busy.”

Becca couldn’t help a small giggle. “Worst case scenario, you’d have to wait a few seconds until I was decent. I’d still help you.” He huffed again and she reached over, unbuttoning the clasp around his neck he couldn’t undo on his own so he could get the rest off himself. It bothered him more than he let on, being as vulnerable as he was, so she only helped where it was necessary. Undoing a buckle of his boot that he couldn’t quite reach here, a tug on the bottom of his pant leg there. Luckily, Ed usually just wore his own underthings to bed, so it was a pretty easy transition. Once finished, Becca pushed herself to her feet and grabbed her comb again to finally let her hair down. Armstrong dropped by on his way to his own room to let them know that Al had requested to stay the night in the living room so he could stay occupied with listening to the Rockbells’ radio.

“Should we go sit with Al?” Ed asked anxiously, trying to maneuver to his feet.

Becca, on the other hand, just tugged her cardigan tighter around torso and scooted to the end of her bed. “If he needed us, he would have asked Armstrong to get us.”

“But maybe he wants-”

“Edward, I’m sure he wants us to get a good night’s rest. And he’s probably having more fun out there with some music than in here by himself.” She leaned back against the wall and coaxed, “Go to sleep, Ed. We all need a peaceful night.”

Ed pouted, but slumped down onto his side. “I hate breaks.”

Becca reached over and flicked her bedside lamp off, dousing them in darkness before laying down herself. “It could be worse,” she said. “Al could be stuck with the sheep again.”

From the other side of the room, through the darkness, she heard Ed chuckled dryly. Saudade chords of an organ accompanying a woman crooning in Aerugian floated down the hall, luring them into sleep.

\---

_ Actual food, _ Becca thought cheerily. The first to wake up, like usual, she’d pushed Al across the floor to join her in the kitchen while she made breakfast, and went ahead and changed the radio station from the sappy love songs Al had listened to all night to a more upbeat, big band sound appropriate for a sunny morning. Al was nodding his head to the heavy drum beat as Becca swayed along, giggling, whilst plopping some eggs into boiling water. She already had a teapot and a coffee pot going, and bread and butter were sitting on the counter, and Becca was just glad to have something more than cereal or train meals for once.

On the landing above, the floorboards creaked before Winry descended into view, rubbing her eyes. “This is refreshing,” she remarked, smiling tiredly. “It gets too quiet in the mornings with just Granny and I here.”

“Good morning!”

“Morning. Coffee?”

She smiled gratefully as Becca passed her a mug and the percolator. “Are you the only two up?” she asked, pouring an almost-full serving of plain black coffee and taking a long sip, then making up the difference, hinting at how tired she really was.

“Ed’s not exactly an early riser,” Becca said, “but I haven’t seen anyone else. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not up, though. The Major might just be chopping more wood.”

Winry grinned. “Yeah, I guess he doesn’t seem like the type to sleep in. Granny’s probably still in bed, but I guarantee she’ll be down to scold you for going through any trouble while you’re here.”

“Oh, no, I really don't mind. You’ve both been so nice, it’s the least I can do.”

“Plus, Brother practically lives on restaurant food and dry cereal everywhere else,” Al added.

Becca pointed at him with her spoon, emphasizing his point. “Exactly. I used to cook all the time, but we just don’t get the opportunity anymore.” She leaned back onto the counter on the heels of her hands and added, “So if you’ve got any requests-”

“I think Granny would have a heart attack if I  _ asked _ you to cook for me,” Winry said, giggling.

“Hey, you’re the one doing all the work,” Becca retorted, a smile tugging at her lips. “If you’re putting in 3 all-nighters, you should at least have a few meal picks.”

Both girls chuckled. Al creaked, tilting his head. “It’s nice to see you two getting along.”

“Are you kidding?” Winry said incredulously. “How could we not? I’ve been the only girl around here for  _ forever _ , Becca’s like a breath of fresh air.”

Warmth bloomed in Becca’s chest and she was unable to resist a bright grin from taking over her face. “Yeah, I love you guys,” she agreed, “but I’ve always thought it would be nice to have a girlfriend too.”

The kitchen timer she’d set for the eggs went off and, as she fished out the few she’d started with, two pieces of toast popped out of the toaster. Becca plated the small meal, handing it off to Winry, who stood up to take the plate, balancing it as she excused herself with, “I should probably get back to work, but thanks for making breakfast, Becca.”

Becca waved, then, just before Winry was about to leave, remembered a request. “Hey, Winry?”

“Hm?”

“Random question, but Ed and Al have already seen all my embarrassing pictures from when we visited my house, so do you have any…?”

Winry smirked evilly, gesturing Becca forward to whisper in her ear. “The bulletin board in the living room has some,” she murmured, “but if you want more, I can get them to you.”

Becca grinned. “I like how you think,” she said, pulling away. “I think this friendship is going to flourish.”

“Oh, boy,” Al said to himself.

\---

Sure enough, Pinako did admonish Becca once she was awake, but that didn’t stop her from sitting down at the table with Al and taking a few hard boiled eggs and toast slices for herself, although she did force Becca to take a break and eat as well while she manned the stove and toaster. Armstrong had actually slipped outside, apparently at the crack of dawn given how early Becca naturally woke up, and had gone for what he called, “a daily regimen for rejuvenation passed down the Armstrong line for generations!” that Becca assumed was just a run around the community. And, within the hour of Armstrong’s return, Becca could hear the uneven footsteps of an automail bearer meandering down the hall.

Armstrong himself, as well as Pinako, had both long since disappeared from the kitchen- Pinako to her workroom to work on Ed’s leg and Armstrong back to his room for some military paperwork he’d brought along. Ed, rubbing his eyes and yawning, ambled past the kitchen doorway, then up the stairs. Becca raised a brow but didn’t interrupt him, instead just observing until she heard a door creak open upstairs, then a brief pause in the whirring of Winry’s tools, then a shouted, “Get out!” and the same door slamming. Becca covered her mouth, but shared a conspiratorial giggle with Al as Ed came back into view, clearly sulking as he plopped down at the table. She took a long sip of her tea, pushing a plate with about twice as much food as the others had eaten towards Ed while Al tried to help him.

“She said it would take three days,” he said pointedly. “So give her three days.”

“I know,” Ed mumbled, followed by a thanks to Becca, then complained, “I just keep thinking about that information waiting for us in Central, and I get so impatient!”

“You need something to do, Edward?” Pinako called from her workroom.

Ed blanched. “No, Granny, we-”

“Ah ah ah, you went for a long walk yesterday, you can walk down to the post office and get the mail! Go on!”

Ed groaned, but started on shovelling his breakfast into his mouth. Becca shook her head fondly, collecting the other dishes to start the washing and glancing around to see what else she could tidy up while the engineers worked.

\---

Though Pinako finished Ed’s leg that day, Ed decided to wait until his arm was also done so he’d only have to go through the reattachment process once. Over the next two days, Becca, Ed, and Al rarely left the property. They occupied themselves reading, listening and making fun of dramatic radio shows, and doing chores (Becca voluntarily and Ed only when Pinako pressed). 

Becca cooked a few of the meals when she insisted and brought them up to Winry when she was too enthralled in her work to come down at a reasonable hour for food, and the two girls would take a few minutes to chat so Winry could eat before going back to work. A significant number of their chats included Winry showing off a few pictures from the past, filling Becca in on the stories behind them like Becca herself had done back in Adethal. She’d return from those visits with a smile on her face and teased both boys about Winry’s account, often to have them leap into contradicting the story she’d been told, leading to many conflicting tales between the two.

And so they continued, until, finally, Winry hurried downstairs, metal arm thrown over her shoulder and a smile streaked over her face. “It’s done!” she practically sang. “Ready to put it on?”

Armstrong took Al outside so Ed would have room to transmute him cleanly when he was able, and then everyone else, including Den, herded into the living room. Winry and Pinako took their places near each of Ed’s ports as he sank into the couch cushions and shrugged out of his tank top. A few feet away, Becca crossed her arms, rocking back on her heels as she carefully stood out of the way with Ed’s actual clothes. She knew he was anxious to get back into his full outfit, enough so that he’d let her braid his hair the day before, a feat that could normally only be accomplished after a particularly rough mission when he just didn’t have the energy.

“Bex? Could you come hold down this arm so I don’t hit anything when it connects?”

Becca looked up, then nodded quickly, settling near his left side and bracing her hands on his forearm. The engineers finished the superficial connections, leaving only the nerve to wire connections to finish. “Ready?” Winry checked in. Ed nodded with grit teeth, and Winry said, “We’ll get started then, on 3. 1… 2… 3!” At the last second, she and Pinako both twisted their wrenches, sending electrical currents coursing through Ed’s limbs. He jolted, groaned in pain, and Becca had to quickly push down to keep his arm still. As it were, his leg still shot out reflexively, but Pinako had sat far enough away that it wasn’t a problem.

Becca only let go when he relaxed. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Ed grunted, rolling his right shoulder. “I just always hate connecting the nerves, it’s the worst part.” He leaned back, tilting his head onto the wall behind him. “Once we get the Philosopher’s Stone, I’ll be able to kiss that pain goodbye.”

Becca pulled the thumb holes of her sleeves into their proper position, covering her wrist and palm so she could dab at the sweat that had sprung up on Ed’s forehead. “Soon enough.”

“We’ll be sad to see you go,” Pinako remarked from where she was tightening his leg. “You’re our biggest source of income.”

“ _ I _ don’t understand why you’d even want to restore your body. Isn’t having automail cool?” Winry said, twisting her wrench particularly hard and causing Ed to shout again. She stepped back, placing an adoring hand over her heart. “The smell of the oil, the hum of the bearings, the strong, beautiful form created through anatomical engineering… how wonderful automail is-”

Ed snorted. “Crazy gearhead.”

Winry froze, glaring pointedly at him. “Like you could do anything without me, alchemy freak.”

“Alright, that’s enough, you two,” Pinako said, standing up from her stool. “You’re done, Ed.”

Steadier than he had been the last few days, although, admittedly, still a bit shakily, Ed got to his feet and proceeded to do a few of his normal stretches to warm up the unused joints and muscles as the Rockbells clinically observed from the couch.

“Feel good?”

“Feels normal,” Ed said with a shrug.

“Now listen, this is important,” Winry started. “I increased the percentage of chrome in this one so it won’t rust, since you insist on skipping daily maintenance, but the tradeoff is that is isn’t as strong as it was, so don’t-”

The door slamming open cut her off and before anyone could react, Ed was gone, shot out the door presumably to find Alphonse, still in his boxers and shirtless. Becca sighed, bringing her hands up to her face. Vaguely, she could hear him apologizing for keeping Al waiting, which, she supposed, was sweet, but still, he couldn’t have waited a couple more minutes.

“So he shouldn’t do anything too crazy, I assume,” Becca continued from where Winry had left off. “Anything else I need to pass on once I get him to put on some pants?”

Winry rolled her eyes, popping a hip, clearly annoyed to have been shoved aside. “No, that was the only change I had to make. But I did want to tell him to actually respect this arm and not smash it to pieces?”

Becca laughed. “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll do my best to get him on board with that.” She nudged Winry towards the stairs, cajoling, “Now go take a nap. We’re leaving tomorrow, so I’ll wake you for dinner.”

As Winry nodded, her eyelids fluttering at the very mention of catching up on some sleep, they saw the telltale bright light that came with transmutations flickering through the windows and open door. They shared a glance, then separated, Winry headed upstairs and Becca, knowing what always came after Ed restored any part of Al’s body, stuck her head out the door and shouted, “Alright, Edward, now would you please put on some clothes before getting your ass beaten?”

\---

“Why do you two always spar anyway?” Winry asked over dinner. Ed had come back in nursing a few bruises, and it seemed like even Armstrong had joined in on the fun since his head was shiny with sweat, and both had deigned to shower while Al reworked his finer motor functions by helping Pinako cut meat for dinner. Becca suddenly found herself with nothing to do and finally had a chance to really study the bulletin board full of pictures, including one with an older, golden haired man who was covered up until she moved a separate picture slightly to the left. She tilted her head and realized this must be the Elrics’ father; the man had only ever been mentioned in passing and she really just knew that he’d left when the boys were young, leaving a sore spot for Ed and an unlikely hope for Al. She jumped when Pinako called that dinner was ready and had let the other photo cover the man’s face once more.

“Our teacher always told us, ‘to train the mind, you must first train the body’,” Ed defended, mouth full.

“We spar pretty much any time we can,” Becca informed.

Armstrong nodded approvingly. “Your teacher is wise, Edward Elric. After all, a strong mind can only reside in a strong body!” He flexed, his shirt on the verge of ripping again. “Like so!”

Winry, on the other hand, groaned. “That’s just going to break your automail faster!”

“Fine by me,” Pinako said, chortling to herself. “Just means we’ll be making more money.”

“Not for much longer,” Ed chided, reached over to bump fists with Al, then Becca. “Tomorrow, we’re on our way to Central, and then I bet we’ll have a Philosopher’s Stone within the season!”

\---

Although dinner was lively, the excitement of the day took its toll as the sun went down. Becca had curled up on the couch with a book she’d bought the last time they’d been to Central, something about a doctor and a monster, when Ed dragged his feet over and promptly dropped on the other cushion, then slumped over so he was face down near her thigh.

She raised her book, glancing down at him out of the corner of her eye. “Hello.”

“Hey,” he replied, voice muffled.

Becca chuckled. “Tired?”

He propped himself up on his elbow, giving her a sour look of his own. “Automail attachment leads to fatigue.”

“Aww, poor Ed.” 

Like it was the most natural thing in the world, Becca let her hand slide into Ed’s bangs, brushing them off his forehead. He jumped, making her freeze, then settled. Slowly, Becca let her thumb run over his forehead, smoothing the wrinkles that always seemed to find their way because of his normal furrowed brows, while her other hand set her book in her lap so she could keep reading.

Before she knew it, Ed’s eyes were drifting shut. On a whim, she checked his torso, smiling slightly when she saw that his flesh arm had slid under his shirt, raising the seam just enough to barely expose his stomach like he always seemed to do.

Barking signalled Al’s return from taking Den for a walk, and it was only seconds later that the front door creaked open. The real miracle, Becca thought, was how Ed could sleep through Den’s claws skittering through the house, but he was a heavy sleeper, definitely more so than Becca.

Al peered into the living room, then sighed seeing Ed passed out as he was. “Brother fell asleep with his tummy out again. What are we going to do with him?”

“You’d think you were the older brother, Al,” Pinako said from where she was washing dishes. She dried her hands, flicking soapy water off, then came to lean on the doorway.

Winry, on the other hand, had disappeared down the hall and came back with the blanket from Ed’s cot. She draped it over him, then sat down on Becca’s other side. “Isn’t it weird to think about how someone as small as him is technically a ‘human weapon’? I mean, he’s only my age, and he’s just sleeping like a baby.”

“How old are you now?” Pinako asked.

“I’m 14, and Brother’s 15.”

The old woman turned expectantly to Becca, who started and added, “Oh! Ah- I’m 14 as well, ma’am. But I’ll be 15 in a little more than a month.”

“So you’re really in the same boat as him,” Winry said. “It’s kind of crazy…”

A little unnerved from all the attention, Becca swallowed, then wiped her palms on her trousers and got up, resisting the urge to bolt for the door. “I- I should probably make sure everything got packed up.” She dipped her head respectfully to the others in the room. “Thank you both for everything.”

And she let the door fall shut behind her, then paused. Armstrong, who’d disappeared after dinner, was hovering outside the door, looking a little shocked to have been caught. However, he didn’t shoo Becca away, apparently too enthralled in the continued conversation. Against her better judgement, she tuned in as well, just in time to catch Al’s murmured, “Thank you for treating us like family, Granny, Winry. I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done for us.” He hesitated for a moment, then said, “I know Brother thinks so too, even if he won’t ever say it.”

“It’s alright, dear,” came Pinako’s raspy response. “He doesn’t have to say it. We know he feels it too.”

Warmth rushed into Becca's chest and she leaned against the wall, smiling. She chanced a look over at Armstrong, only to see him dabbing at his eyes with a white handkerchief. Their eyes met and Becca gestured with her head towards the hallway where they’d all been sleeping. The major shook his head, but they shared a conspiratorial nod, and she knew that neither of them would be telling what they’d heard any time soon.

\---

Once again, Becca was the first one awake the morning of their departure. As a result, she bustled about, checking all their bags for the third time. Something was missing…

She sighed. Of course, she’d left her book in the living room after her hasty retreat. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if she left it behind, but she was at a good part and wanted to finish the story, and since she’d remembered, she might as well go grab it.

Making sure to keep silent as she crept down the hall, Becca moved around the staircase, then pushed the door open to the living room. Pinako was already awake, perched on her stool, cleaning the spare leg Ed had been using. Becca froze.

“Good morning,” the woman said before Becca could back up. Although she didn’t look up, Becca could practically feel Pinako’s bespectacled gaze on her.

She coughed. “Good morning, ma’am.”

That time, Pinako did look up, unimpressed. “Honestly, dear, call me Pinako. Or Granny, everyone else does.” She hopped off her stool, picking up the pipe in the ashtray, then waved Becca inside. “Come in, sit. And tell me-” She blew a large puff of smoke, “-was everything alright last night?”

On her way to the couch, Becca startled, wide-eyed. “I- yes. Yes, of course, why do you ask?”

“You left rather quickly,” she said nonchalantly. “I do like guests to be comfortable in my house, so if Winry or myself said something, I’d rather apologize now than let it stew-”

Becca shook her head quickly, saying, “Oh, no, no, no, you and Winry have both been perfect,” before realizing the corner she’d backed herself into. She narrowed her eyes, sighing heavily. “I see what you did there.”

“Smart girl,” Pinako said, a small uptick in her lips.

“I’m- I really wasn’t uncomfortable because of you two,” Becca tried to explain. “I just- okay, maybe it was a little- I don’t know. You’ve just been so nice, and this has actually felt like a home, and… that’s just as disconcerting as it is reassuring.” She let out a large breath, her shoulders dropping like rocks. “Letting people in is usually hard,” she summarized. “But it- it hasn’t been, here, that is. My house hasn’t been this welcoming in years, so I guess I’m not used to it.”

Pinako raised an eyebrow over her large glasses across the room at her, then remarked, “Well, that’s hardly anything worth getting worked up about.”

“How do you mean?”

“The boys already see this as a second home,” she said, shrugging like it was the simplest thing in the world. “I see no reason you shouldn’t be able to as well. Even if it isn’t exactly like what you know, doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to find comfort here.” She leaned back, smiling kindly. “We don’t have to replace your family, Becca. We can always just extend it.”

Becca opened her mouth, then closed it quickly. “That’s… a really good way of looking at it, ma’am- Pinako, sorry.” She smiled hesitantly. “Thank you.”

“Of course, dear. The boys gave you our address, didn’t they?” Becca nodded, and Pinako hummed approvingly. “Good. Then you can write if anything is bothering you.” She thought for a moment, then, “And maybe if Ed and Al need anything as well. God only knows where the letters Ed claims he’s going to write end up.”

“Same place as the phone calls he says he’ll make before showing up randomly at your house?” Becca suggested.

Pinako laughed. “Maybe, maybe,” she said, standing up again and crossing to her work table. “Your book is on the mantle. Go ahead and wake Ed up. I sent Al to pick up groceries so you three wouldn’t have to have train food for breakfast.”

“That sounds… great. Thank you, Pinako.”

“See you in a bit, dear.”

\---

Suitcases piled up near the end of the porch, Armstrong holding their train tickets and Ed clutching his travelogue with the note from Marcoh to his chest, everyone except Winry had gathered to say goodbye. The air was thick, both with fog and tension. Although they’d all been excited to find Marcoh’s research, the familiar nervous energy that always came with another possible lead was bubbling up in all of them.

“Alright, thanks for taking care of us Granny,” Ed said, tugging his glove over his automail.

“Until you break it again, then,” Pinako retorted.

“Is Winry coming down?” Al asked. “I’d hate to miss her.”

“She’s still asleep after all the all-nighters. Should I go wake her?”

“Don’t bother, she’d just blab about ‘taking care of my automail’ or whatever,” Ed objected.

“You  _ should _ be taking care of your automail, though,” Becca said.

“Anyway,” he cut her off forcefully, picking up his suitcase to start down the dirt path, flanked by Al and Armstong, “see ya, Granny. Tell Winry we said thanks for going through all the trouble.”

“I’ll try and keep in touch,” Becca said, walking backwards to keep pace with Ed. “Let you know how this lead turns out.”

Pinako chuckled, blowing a neat ring of smoke from her pipe. “You all come back out here for dinner sometime, hear that?”

Both boys turned over their shoulder at that, Al with a little laugh and Ed with a fond eye roll. “Yeah, sure, we’ll make sure to come all the way up here for some dinner,” he said sarcastically.

“If he won’t take the offer, I will,” Becca volunteered.

Pinako laughed, Den barking in apparent agreement, before she waved them away. Started down the road, they were almost out of earshot when Winry’s voice rang over the fields. They turned one more time, only to see Winry flopped over the second floor balcony, waving tiredly to them. “Come back soon, okay?”

Becca smiled brightly and pivoted around fully to wave back with Al. Winry giggled, then pointed towards the horizon at Ed, who’d already walked away, only sparing a wave over his shoulder and a casual, “Yeah, sure. See you then,” for his mechanic. Becca and Al hurried to catch up, leaving Winry’s giggle to float on the wind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you and your loved ones are all staying healthy and safe, and i'll see y'all in the next chapter. -c


	13. nodus tollens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> good afternoon, my dears!
> 
> so remember how i said this chapter might be shorter than the last... it's not really.
> 
> sorry bout it. i had some moments.
> 
> happy belated thankgiving to all y'all who celebrate, and happy holiday season! besides halloween, this is probably my favorite time of year, so that's definitely been motivating me to keep my spirits up and keep writing through the throes of college applications. i sent in all my current applications already, so fingers crossed i'll get into a few. wish me luck!
> 
> in terms of the next two chapter, i Promise these will most likely be significantly shorter if only because i've been so busy with college stuff. I might able to put the finishing touches on them and combine them into one mega chapter; if that's what y'all prefer, i can give that my best shot, but unless anyone has any specific yearning for it, that's my plan right now.
> 
> nodus tollens (noun)- the realization that although you thought you were following the arc of the story, you keep finding yourself immersed in passages you don't understand

“We finally made it to Central!” Ed whooped, punching the air (and barely missing a pedestrian’s nose). Suitcase thrown haphazardly over his shoulder while Armstrong offered Becca his arm to disembark, he looked like the perfect picture of a grinning tourist. But Becca could see the slight tension in his muscles, the tightness of his smile, and could practically see the pent-up energy oozing off of him. Bouncing his leg the entire time he was awake on the train simply hadn’t been enough to calm him down, not that she thought it would be. This was their biggest lead yet, and could easily be the end of their search. “Come on, hurry up!”

“We’re coming, we’re coming,” Becca said, sharing an exasperated look with Al.

“Yeah, Brother, the library won’t run away,” Al added.

From the few other trips they’d taken up to Central, Becca knew that nothing short of a force of nature could part the crowds in the Central City train station.

Though, she supposed, perhaps a determined Edward Elric might fit in that category, sitting snugly between earthquakes and tornados. He didn’t even want to wait for Armstrong to make a call to Command to get a car and insisted the major just take them straight to the first branch. However, even he couldn’t stop Armstrong’s running commentary on the significance of the Central Library and its branches.

“The library boasts the greatest number of books in the country,” he was saying as they crossed Main Street. “There are so many you could spend hundreds of years reading nonstop and still not reach the end.” His chest swelled proudly. “Some might call it a beacon of knowledge for our country.”

They rounded the final corner and, in sync, their jaws dropped. The first branch of the Central Library was… gone. Burned to a crisp, and then a little more for good measure.

“Apparently not anymore,” she said quietly.

“What the hell happened?” Ed demanded. He stumbled forward, crouching in the ashes and letting a handful slip through his fingers.

“Major Armstrong, is that you?” a woman called frantically. Two uniformed military officials hurried over, one dark haired woman and one sandy haired man, and saluted to Armstrong as soon as they were within a respectable distance. He saluted back, though not with his usual gusto, and the woman winced. “Yes… we were trying to find you and warn you.” She gestured around hopelessly. “The first branch was burned down a few days ago, along with everything inside. Files, research, records, registries, all gone.”

Armstrong sighed, massaging his forehead. “Thank you for trying, Second Lieutenant Ross, Sergeant Brosh. I assume the investigations unit has taken this hit hard?”

“Yes, sir,” the woman, Ross, given her insignia, said. “We’ve been sent to relieve you of your duties and take over supervision of the Elric brothers and Rebecca Harper.”

“You must be the state alchemists, right?” the sergeant said, looking over at Al and Becca. “Your outfit matches your name, that’s so cool, Fullmetal! I’m Sergeant Denny Brosh.”

“And I’m Second Lieutenant Maria Ross, it’s an honor to meet you both!” the second lieutenant echoed.

Becca chanced a look over at Ed, red faced in Armstrong’s shadow, and said, “One for two,” as she raised a finger in his direction.

“It’s the little one?” Brosh asked. “But I thought-”

“I am not little-!” Ed snapped, then choked as Armstrong grabbed him, embracing him tightly.

“I must report to Central Command, Edward Elric!” he cried. Ed cried out as well as he was squished and Becca backed up a little closer to Al as if that would protect her if the major turned his attention on her. Indeed, it didn’t, since Armstrong just swept her and Al into his arms as well. Tears flooded down his face as he squeezed even harder. “I sincerely hope we shall all meet again soon!” He put them all on their feet, then patted them on the heads, and saluted slightly more enthusiastically at his subordinates. “Take care of them.”

“Why do we still have to have escorts?” Ed complained as Armstrong walked away.

“Scar- Scar has yet to be apprehended, according to East City’s last report” Ross stuttered, still shaken from Ed’s outburst. “Until that situation is resolved, we’ve been ordered to be your escorts. We aren’t as competent as Major Armstrong, but with you three all in working order again and our combat capabilities, we should be okay, so please don’t worry.”

“Yeah, I’m apparently the only one who’s not worried,” Ed grumbled.

“You’re supposed to say ‘thank you’, Brother,” Al chastised. 

“There’s a car waiting over here,” Ross said firmly, cutting off what would probably be a solid round of bickering from Ed, who desperately needed to let off some steam. “Maybe we could go see if there’s any of the information you were looking for is at one of the other branches.”

Becca knew it wouldn’t be. There was only one copy, and, unless someone had taken the time to move all the research to another spot, it was incinerated. But, with a glance at the brothers, she also knew they couldn’t bear to give up on their most promising lead yet. They had to exhaust all possible angles before giving up again. So she nodded curtly and was first in the car, thankfully meaning that she didn’t have to get stuck in the middle seat. A driver was waiting, but barely extended a greeting, and Ed was still moping about the library’s destruction. So Ross and Brosh were left to simply stare at Al in the silent car. They’d only driven a mile or so when Al finally, awkwardly, asked, “Is something wrong?”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Brosh said, flushing bright red at being caught. “If you don’t mind me asking, though- why do you wear that armor?”

The brothers both went stiff. Ed forced a smile as they chorused, “It’s part of his training.”

Becca resisted the urge to drop her head in her hands as Ross and Brosh’s eyebrows flew up and they launched into a slew of fervent whispers behind their head and instead flashed a sweet smile before pointing out the side window. “Oh, look, there’s the main branch. Let’s go check it out. Excuse me! Stop the car, please!”

\---

While the employees at the main Central Library weren’t able to help them outright, one private had given them a tip on a woman called “Sheska”, who lived nearby and was enough of a bookworm that she might be able to definitively remember if Marcoh’s notes were even in the library to begin with or if, as Becca had suggested on the way out, Marcoh might have just sent them on a wild goose chase or scavenger hunt of some sort. Whatever the next step turned out to be, it apparently lied within a plain block of apartments.

Brosh knocked on the door the landlord had directed them to a few times to no avail. “You think she’s out?”

Before Becca could stop him, Ed tried the handle. The door creaked open, revealing piles upon piles of books inside. It was impossible to make out even the layout of the living space inside because the books had formed hallways of their own.

It was a little impressive.

“Are we sure someone lives here?” Ed said rhetorically, picking around some of the smaller stacks around the door. “There’s gotta be a million of them!”

“Ms. Sheska?” Ross called out. “Are you here?”

They edged around the apartment, looking for any sign of life. The second lieutenant led the way with the sergeant practically clinging to her arm, Becca and Ed close being. Alphonse, being as big as he was, brought up the rear. So when he stopped, no one else noticed until he nervously said, “Um, guys?” They turned to see him pointing down one of the book-laden corridors, specifically at an unorganized, fallen pile. “I think someone’s under there!”

It was only then Becca noticed the hand sticking out of the pile. “Oh, my God.”

“Dig!” Ed shouted, practically leaping over Becca to get to the pile.

Luckily, it only took a few minutes to unbury an apologetic young woman who almost immediately threw herself down at their feet, bowing so low she almost banged her forehead on the floor. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! Thank you so much! I knocked over a pile of books and got myself stuck! I thought I was going to die under there!”

The others, however, were still in a state of shock. Breaths ragged, Ed gave a small, “No problem…” He leaned back from where he’d been crouched on his heels so he could sit criss-crossed on the floor. “I assume you’re Sheska? You worked at the first branch of the library?”

They all jumped when the woman cringed at the question, crying out as if she was in pain. “Oh, the library! The word itself is so beautiful! I loved that job at the first branch since I’ve loved books ever since I first learned to read as a girl, but I forgot I was supposed to be working, and all I ever did was read, so they fired me!” She folded in on herself even more, lamenting, “If I can’t find another job, I won’t be able to put my sick mother in a better hospital! But I’m hopeless, I can’t do anything other than read! I’ll never find another job, it’s impossible for a useless lowlife like me-!” The poor woman dissolved into sobs. Becca’s eyes flicked between Sheska and her companions, wondering if someone was going to comfort her. Ed held up a hand, then stepped forward.

“Um, Miss?” he interrupted. “We actually had a question for you.”

“Edward,” Becca hissed, “she’s upset, you could at least-”

“No, go ahead, what did you need?” Sheska said, wiping her tears away easily. “You saved my life, it’s the least I can do.”

“Do you remember seeing any notes by someone named Tim Marcoh?” Ed asked hopefully, though what he was hoping for, Becca couldn’t be sure. If Marcoh’s work wasn’t at the first branch, it meant they’d been tricked. If it was, it meant they couldn’t get to it anymore.

Sheska hummed, tapping her chin. “Marcoh… Tim Marcoh,” she murmured to herself, then brought her fist down on her open palm. “Yes, I remember, I’m absolutely positive those were the handwritten notes I found shoved in on a shelf where they didn’t belong. That’s why I remember them so clearly!”

“So they were there after all,” Becca said, hope blooming in her chest before the true implications of Sheska’s words came crashing down. “And they were destroyed by that fire just like everything else in the library...”

Ed and Al drooped at the same moment she did, their heads hanging dejectedly. “So much for that lead,” Al said, getting to his feet. “Sorry for wasting your time, but thanks for letting us know.”

“Did you want to read them?” Sheska asked innocently.

“Yeah, but they’re just ash now. We got here too late,” Ed grumbled.

Ross was escorting them out when Sheska weakly suggested, “I could try to recreate them, if that would help?”

Becca stopped, looking over her shoulder. “What do you mean by that?”

“I remember everything in them,” she said as if it was obvious.

The three teenagers looked at each other, then quickly back at Sheska. In unison, they breathed, “Huh?”

“It’s just how I am! I can remember every book I’ve ever read, word for word!” she said defensively. “It might take some time, but I could write out another copy-”

“Yes, please!” Ed said, grasping her hand. Al was practically dancing from how hard he’d started shaking with excitement, and one look down at her hands proved Becca wasn’t much better. “Thank you, bookworm! You’re a lifesaver!”

“You’re… welcome?” Sheska replied weakly.

Ed drew away quickly once she’d agreed, hustling the rest of them out the front door. “Come on then, let’s let the nice lady work! Bye bye, now!” he called, then slammed the door and cheered, high fiving both Al and Becca. After so many false leads as of late, it was nice to finally feel like things were actually going their way.

\---

That feeling lasted about five days. Then Sheska had called them back to show them a stack of cookbooks. Becca thumbed through them, reading some of the names aloud. “‘1000 Easy Recipes’, ‘1000  _ More _ Easy Recipes’, ‘Another 1000 Easy Recipes’, ooh, this one’s really mixing it up- ‘1000 Not-So-Easy Recipes’.” She sighed. “Dr. Marcoh might have been a great alchemist, but he sure as well wasn’t very creative.”

“Ma’am, what part of you thought these might be important government documents we needed to recover?” Brosh asked incredulously.

Sheska withdrew, looking hurt. “I only wrote the notes down as I remembered them! Is it not what you were looking for?”

Becca picked one of the sheafs of paper, the one labelled ‘1000 Simple Recipes’ and flicked through the pages. “There’s not even 1000 recipes in here,” she said. “Which is weird because we know Dr. Marcoh can count.”

Ed stilled. “How many are there?”

“He got close, but they’re only labelled up to number 903,” she responded, checking another one. “But that’s better than ‘1000 Easy Recipes’. That one only gets up to 212.” She paused, blinked, then raised her eyebrow, grabbing a different set and flipping straight to the last recipe. “Oh, I see… let me just- yeah, okay. ‘1000  _ More _ Easy Recipes’ has 218.”

“Sheska, are you sure this is exactly what Dr. Marcoh wrote? Word for word, you said?” he confirmed.

“Absolutely! I’m positive!”

Ed grinned, picking up a stack of notes. “Great. Thanks so much, you’re really incredible. Al, Bex, let’s get these back to the main branch, I’m sure they’ll have a spare room we can use.”

“And lots of dictionaries and alchemical texts,” Al added, nodding along. He loaded a few stacks into Brosh’s arms, then took the rest for himself, leaving Becca with the three she’d already been holding.

“Don’t forget Sheska’s fee, Ed,” Becca said. 

“Right, uh…”

“Here let me take those-” 

She stacked Ed’s notes on top of hers to allow him to rip a page from his travelogue and unhook his State Alchemist watch from his belt. “Lieutenant Ross, this is my registration code and the watch should serve as ID. I need you to go to the State Alchemist office, withdraw that amount from my annual research grants, and make sure it gets here.”

“I- of course. I’ll get on that right away, sir,” Ross agreed awkwardly. 

“Well, Sheska, thanks a lot! Good luck finding a job!” Ed chirped as they left the apartment. “Bye!”

Ross didn’t open the folded paper until after they’d already left- that would be rude, after all- but they all knew when she did. Through the admittedly thin apartment door and walls, they could clearly hear her shocked yell of, “How does a kid like that have this kind of money to throw around?”

Ed rolled his eyes. “I’m not throwing it around,” he said indignantly. “It’s my research fund. I  _ am _ researching.”

\---

Brosh managed to hold his questions until they were set up in a study room at the main Central Library, but it was obvious he was almost bursting by the time they’d shut the door behind them. “So what exactly do cookbooks have to do with alchemy?”

“People have this misconception of alchemy, that it’s like magic and can fix all their problems. But it’s actually an extremely powerful art,” Ed explained.

“Which can be extremely dangerous when placed in the wrong hands,” Becca added.

Ed gestured her way and nodded. “So alchemists always encrypt their research using metaphors, symbols, ciphers,” he continued, “in order to prevent that. What might look like recipes to us right now are actually highly sensitive, likely incredibly important alchemical notes. It all comes together into a code that only the person who wrote it can easily understand. Becca noticing the numbered recipes tipped me off- 903 is the sum of the atomic numbers in the lanthanide series, same with 212 for the alkali metals and 218 for the alkaline-earth metals. Those recipes might have ties to their corresponding elements.”

“So how will you decipher them?” Brosh asked.

“By using all our knowledge and maybe doing a little research of our own,” Ed answered, shrugging. “It’s not going to be easy, but we never thought it would be.”

“Hypothetically, culinary notes should be easier than some other types of note-taking,” Al said as he joined them at the table with a stack of books. “Alchemy and cooking are pretty similar after all- they’re both very exact sciences, and some old stories even say that alchemy was born in a kitchen. But something like Brother’s code might be harder to break. He uses his travelogue, and I probably couldn’t decipher it if I tried.”

“I’ve been faking a gardening guide ever since I was old enough to know how to encrypt,” Becca said. “My dad made his notes look like a teacher’s notebook, even after he stopped teaching. And I happen to know that Colonel Mustang codes his notes as a record of dates he’d supposably gone on.”

“That sounds really complicated…” Brosh said.

“It is,” Ed noted. “But we’ve done some intense research before and we can do it again. Let’s split these stacks up and start taking notes.”

\---

As it turned out, six days of nonstop reading, writing, and organizing didn’t always leave one’s mind in the best spot, especially when, apparently, the universe just wanted to use one’s own health issues against them and screw everything up. Still, she figured she should be able to catch a break. They were sleeping for a few hours a night in the dorm room, eating… regularly enough. Maybe they were playing a little fast and loose about what was technically healthy, but this was important, dammit!

“No…” she moaned, burying her head in her pillow. “Not today, not now…”

Becca hated headache days. They weren’t exactly common, but once every few months or so, one would spring up out of nowhere. She always knew from the moment she woke up that that day was not going to be fun when she felt the oh-so-familiar splitting pain in her temples. She’d been lucky since the one during the MacDougal incident since all of them had happened on days where they were either on a train or able to spend a day relaxing in a hotel or dorm, and she supposed she probably could take the day off, but it wasn’t a matter of being able to. It was a matter of being useful and fulfilling her promise to help the Elrics. So pain aside, she was getting out of bed and into that library if it killed her. Just as soon as her vision stopped going spotty.

“Bex?”

She flinched away from Ed’s voice, the pain spiking.

“Oh,” he said, lowering his voice significantly. “Sorry.”

“No problem,” Becca mumbled. She pushed herself up in bed, rubbing her eyes, and swung her legs over the edge (if she had to brace herself from the waves of dizziness that followed, well, that was her business). She got to her feet, swayed a bit, but managed to make her way over to the table. Ed followed at a distance, though when she sank into a chair, she heard him moving as quietly as he could to the kitchenette, then the slight clinks of a kettle on the stove and the click of the stove being lit. “You don’t have to do that. Just- just give me a sec.”

“No, stay there,” Ed ordered, sitting down across from her. “It’s okay, I don’t mind. Please don’t pass out.”

She rolled her eyes, then winced. “That was one time.”

“Maybe you should stay here and rest today,” Al said quietly.

“No way,” she protested. She propped her head up on folded elbows despite the pain that threatened to spill over at the motion. “I can power through, I always do.”

The Elrics exchanged glances. Becca couldn’t help but pout a bit, knowing they were practically discussing her at length, until Al folded. “Fine, but you won’t overexert yourself too much, right?”

“Of course not,” she assured. “It’s not like we’re going to get into trouble today. We’re just reading.”

Ed huffed. “Knowing us, we’ll somehow find trouble doing that.”

“Sure, Ed,” Becca said, shooting Al a knowing look.

Al chuckled. “That’s always a ‘we’ situation.”

\---

“I know I wanted you to come, but come on, Bex, take a break, please,” Ed said when she stood up for another book and had to sit down for fear of toppling over. "You look like you're going to be sick."

“I'm fine," she gritted out, steeling herself. "I just need a moment.” Al had left the room in search of some cookbooks so they could compare Marcoh's recipes to their legitimate counterparts, leaving Becca and Ed to finish up their list of possibly relevant ones to check. And to do so, she needed to see _Alkemic_ _Artes_ by Commodus. “I'll take a break when you do,” she challenged.

“Fine!” he snapped, closing his book firmly.

She blinked. She hadn't thought he'd actually do it. Dejected, she huffed and sat back down, laying her head on the table. "Remind me to pick up some more teabags when we go to a store next."

"Are you out?"

“Not yet, but I'm running low." She adjusted her position to fix Ed with a look, "Oh, wait, you still owe me for scaling that church in Liore, so you need to remember.”

He laughed. "Yeah, sure, and ginger snaps."

She sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry. This is such an inconvenience. I just-I couldn't stand staying in the dorm being useless while you guys-"

"Hey, no," he cut in. "You haven't been useless this whole time, and taking time off because you're sick isn't being useless."

“That's rich, coming from you." Becca changed her voice to mimic what his irritable rasp from a few months ago when he’d had a runny nose and dry throat, “‘No, Becca, I’m not sniffling, shut up!’”

Ed shrugged. "Do as I say, not as I do." He stretched, flicking his notebook open. "And I say you should take a nap. I'll wake you up in an hour or so."

She opened her mouth to object, only to bury her head in her hands as the pricking pain swelled again. "Fine. But wake me up."

"I will."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, she reached over and grabbed his automail arm, then laid her head on his palm. To guarantee that he'd wake her up since he couldn't work one-handed, certainly not to leech the pleasant cold that emanated from the metal limb. 

Although she tried to stay at least half-awake, she didn't even remember staying conscious to hear Al return the room. The next thing she remembered wound up being that Ed could be a dirty, dirty liar when he wanted to be. She came to, still resting on Ed's open palm, but he'd managed to arrange himself so he was able to write notes, flip pages, and even take drinks of water with his left hand, leaving his right palm up under her head. Becca sat up, rubbing her forehead and glaring.

“You,” she grumbled, “are the worst. What time is it?”

Ed shot her a triumphant grin. “3 in the afternoon. How do you feel?”

She looked away, setting her jaw stubbornly. “Better,” she admitted begrudgingly. It wasn’t a lie, she could definitely still feel throbbing along the edge of her mind, but it reminded her of when the headache was near constant- annoying and occasionally overwhelming, but manageable instead of wanting to split her head open. She picked up her abandoned mug, then was surprised to feel that the tea inside was still warm.

“Al reheated it when you started waking up,” Ed explained, nodding over at his brother, who was standing with his back to them as he studied a chart they’d drawn and pinned up a few days ago.

Becca took a long sip, smiling softly. “Thanks, Al.” She bumped Ed’s shoulder and said, “And thank you.”

Ed playfully nudged her back, then picked up the book he’d been reading. “So here’s the rundown of what we’ve done today, check this out.”

\---

Al made them stop early that day, citing a worry that Becca’s headaches would worsen or persist through their usual length of one day if she didn’t get a goodnight’s sleep. But that just meant they were back bright and early the next morning.

Thanks to her nap yesterday, Becca felt almost renewed, but the week was starting to take its toll on the boys. She’d gotten up to find a book someone else had thrown aside, then returned to find Ed and Al facedown on the table. She started, fear spiking briefly, until Ed groaned quietly and flopped from his forehead to his cheek. “Why is this damn code so hard to figure out?”

“Why can’t we just go back and ask Dr. Marcoh directly?” Al complained.

Ed scowled, propping himself up on his chin. “Because that would be admitting defeat! No way!”

“So it’s a competition now?” Becca asked. She set the book down alongside a stack of others and perched on the edge of the table. “In all seriousness, I doubt he’ll tell us. If we can’t crack it on our own, Marcoh might just say we aren’t ready to create the stone.”

“Yes, exactly-”

A click cut off the beginnings of their bickering and drew their attention to where Sheska was standing awkwardly in the doorway. They all froze, then sat up quickly. “Sheska,” Ed greeted casually. “What’s up?”

“Come on in,” Becca invited. “Sit down.” She cleared an unused chair of a few crumpled pieces of paper and gestured for the young woman to join them. Sheska obliged, though she didn’t look totally comfortable as she wrung her hands in her lap.

“I just wanted to come by and say thank you to you, Edward,” Sheska said. “Because of the money you gave me, I was able to move my mother into a wonderful hospital. I really appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it,” Ed said, waving her praise off. “I was just paying you for doing a job. Fair and square.” He smiled weakly. “Besides, when you think about how much this data’s probably worth, you gave it to us pretty cheap.”

“Have you managed to make much progress?” she asked innocently.

Ed’s face fell, Becca grimaced, and Al sighed. Those were all answers enough. Sheska chuckled. “Sorry…”

“How’s your job hunt going?” Al asked.

Sheska averted her eyes in shame. That was answer enough.

“Oh, well,” she said, her tone forcibly light. “You, at least, made me feel better. It was nice to know that even a pathetic, good-for-nothing mess like me can help people sometimes.”

“You’re not a pathetic mess,” Al said. “The dedication you show to reading is a talent all on its own, and so is trying to do your best while staying true to yourself.”

“Plus your memory is incredible!” Becca praised.

“You should have more faith in yourself,” Al advised earnestly. “There are some amazing people in this world, and I think you’re one of them.”

Sheska blinked. A small smile graced her face. “Thank you, Alphonse.”

“Yo!” a familiar voice singsonged, the door slamming open.

Becca sat up straighter, wide-eyed, but relaxed when she saw it was just Hughes. “Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, what are you doing here?”

“More like what are you three doing  _ here _ ?” Hughes asked sternly. “I had to hear from Major Armstrong that you three were in town…” He slammed his hands down on the table, making Becca jump, then grinned. “What gives? I told you to give me a shout when you made it up here.”

“Oh,” Ed said, a little bashful. “Yeah, sorry about that. We’ve been a little sidetracked.”

Hughes laughed. “I guess it’s just as well. I’ve been pretty busy too, so I don’t even know how much I’d actually get to see you. We’ve had so many cases piling up, not to mention how we haven’t been able to wrap up the Tucker case without Scar-” The energy in the room noticeably dipped and he winced. “Sorry. I imagine those aren’t good memories.”

“Did you just come to visit us?” Al asked. “We wouldn’t want to disrupt your work.”

“Nah, I needed a break,” the lieutenant colonel said flippantly. “Ever since the first branch burned down, everything has gotten ten times more difficult since we kept all our old case records and registries there. Doing much of anything has been difficult, to say the least, and right when things have gotten really busy for us.”

Becca’s head swivelled, once towards the boys, then, as one, they all looked over at Sheska.

_ Say something, _ Becca willed her. She nodded encouragingly.

“Me?” she said incredulously. “Well, I guess I did read the military’s files, and I do remember them all, but-”

Hughes only seemed surprised for a brief moment, but he quickly grinned, grabbing poor Sheska by the hand and dragging her towards the door. “That’s all I need to hear! You’re hired, lady, let’s go get you set up in the office! Don’t worry about a thing, we pay very well-”

“R-really? You want me to-” Sheska’s face lit up. “Thank you! Thank you so much!” She waved over her shoulder at them, promising, “I’ll have more faith in myself from now on, and I’ll try my hardest to make something of myself! Thank you!”

Ed, Al, and Becca all waved back. “1000 cenz says she won’t be thanking us for long,” Ed muttered through his teeth.

“I’m not taking that bet,” Becca said, giggling.

Ed fell back onto the desk, voice slightly dulled. “What was that you said, Al? ‘The dedication you show to reading is a talent all on its own, and so is trying to do your best while staying true to yourself’?” He raised his chin, sticking a pen in his mouth. “Not bad, little brother. Very smooth.”

“I’ve always said he has wisdom beyond his years,” Becca remarked proudly.

“I don’t know, it’s just what I always think when I see a certain someone,” Al said, propping himself up to give Ed a look that even Becca could tell was nothing short of adoring.

She gently patted both of them on the head. “Sappy,” she teased.

Ed huffed out a laugh and shoved her away. “Right. And that certain someone needs to get back to work, or you’ll have to come up with a new motivational speech.”

Al laughed, pleased. “Right, Brother.” He returned to the book he’d been lazily flicking through with renewed vigor. Becca shook her head fondly, getting back to work as well.

\---

Ten days. They’d been working for  _ ten days _ and today was the first day it felt like they’d actually made any progress. Finally, spanning over at least ten of Marcoh’s note packets, they’d been able to slowly assign percentages to the elemental components of the Stone. They’d split the work into 3 parts, and so far, Becca had decoded miniscule amounts of cobalt, iron, and copper, but there was a lot more work to be done. Their playful banter had ceased sometime around noon the day before, and they’d continued to work in near silence.

“Hey, Al?” Ed said quietly. “What elements have you figured out so far?”

“I have… oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus.”

“I’ve got carbon, potassium, sulfur, and magnesium,” Ed said.

Becca’s brow furrowed as she scrutinized her own list. She read the elements out loud as well, then glanced up, her eyes meeting Ed’s stricken gaze. Nervous energy pooled in her gut as she recalled a similar list of all their elements combined. “You don’t think-?”

Ed grabbed for a spare piece of paper, frantically scribbling out some notes and calculations. He passed it to Al, who did the same then passed it over to Becca. She wrote her own equations out, then did some quick math with Ed over her shoulder; no doubt, he was doing the same thing. They shared a look.

“We’ve got to finish the calculations,” Al said urgently. “We’ve got to double check.”

Wordlessly, Ed snatched the remaining journals. Becca sat back, knowing he had to be the one to finish this, though she kept a careful watch over him, his tight shoulders, his taut frame. He frantically jotted down the numbers, though he did most of the math mentally, working quickly now that he knew what he was looking for. “It’s all proportional,” he whispered, then, “it all makes sense.” He pushed his chair back quickly enough that it clattered to the ground. Apparently, that didn’t ease his frustration, so he shoved the table as well, scattering their organized stacks with a shouted, “Dammit!”

“Ed, calm down, let me see,” Becca said sternly, the pit growing in her stomach.

“No!” he snapped, slamming his automail fist into the wall. He looked up, a wild look in his eyes on display through his bangs. “You- you can’t-”

The clock chimed outside, throwing them all into silence again until Ed let out a howl of rage, falling to his knees. Their door slammed open, Ross and Brosh both waving their guns. Although they put them away after verifying it was just the five of them in the room, Becca couldn’t help but notice how Ross’s hand still hung near her pistol as she chastised, “Are you three fighting? Even if the work is hard, throwing things isn’t going to help-”

“We don’t need help,” Al said brokenly. “We solved Dr. Marcoh’s cipher. We broke the code and discovered how to make a Philosopher’s Stone.”

Brosh frowned. “Well, I thought that was supposed to be good news.”

“There’s nothing  _ good _ here,” Ed ground out. “He was right, this is the devil’s research.”

“It’s disgusting,” Becca agreed, looking to Ed, trying to gauge his level of anger. She knew the anger was usually a cover for something else, whether it be sadness, disappointment, or disgust, but it was very rare for him to react in genuine anger. “I think… whoever burned down the library was right. This should have been destroyed.”

“What do you mean?” the sergeant asked.

“We’ve done all the math and it all works out,” Ed mumbled. “The main ingredient to the Stone… is human lives.”

Becca’s heart dropped. She knew it’d been coming, but hearing it somehow made it worse. Ross and Brosh both recoiled in horror.

“With these numbers,” Becca said to herself, numbly thumbing through the pages, “you’d need to… sacrifice multiple people to make even one Philosopher’s Stone.”

“That’s horrible!” Ross interjected. “How could the military authorize research into something like that?”

Ed huffed, dragging himself up from the ground, eyes still trained on the ground. “Listen to me,” he said quietly. “Ross, Brosh- I want you two to forget about this. Pretend like you never heard the ingredients of the Stone.” He kicked a crumpled up ball of paper across the floor. “It’s what it deserves.”

“But-”

He wrapped his arms around himself, tense all the way through his shoulders. “Please,” he whispered. Ross and Brosh exchanged a look, then a nod. Ed shuddered. “Let’s go back to the hotel.”

Becca shared a worried glance with the two officers and said, “I’ll clean up here.”

Ed’s head snapped up. “Bex-”

“I’ll stay and help you. Brosh, take the boys back to the hotel.”

Ed opened his mouth to argue, but Al’s hollow voice cut him off. “Brother, we can’t just leave it here. Anyone could find it, you know how dangerous that would be.”

He looked pained, but bit back any arguments. Instead, he just mumbled, “Destroy them for us, okay?”

“Will do. Go get some rest.”

With the boys gone, Becca turned to the stacks of loose paper littered around the room. Ross sighed from next to her. “I’m guessing we can’t just throw it away?”

She shook her head. “If I could, I’d burn it all like whoever did at the first branch. But other than that, the quickest and least destructive way I know of is bleach. Could you ask a librarian if they have any? Maybe in a custodian’s closet or something?” 

Ross nodded, but narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Stay here.”

“I will,” Becca promised. Once the door had shut behind her, though, she crossed the room and picked up the piece of paper Ed had done the final calculations on from where it had been thrown onto the floor. Eyeing a candle that one of them had lit when the light they were reading by had gone out and never bothered to blow out, she ripped the paper into smaller and smaller pieces, dropping each of them into the flame and watching the ashes fall, ingraining themselves in the grain of the table, secrets forever hidden.

\---

_ Dear Winry, _

No.

_ Dear Ms. Rockbell and Winry, _

No, that wouldn’t work either.

_ Dear Rockbells, _

Becca sighed, crossing out the salutation once more. Neither her nor Ed had gotten any sleep, but even so, they’d hardly even moved. The sun had risen hours ago, just barely shining through the darkened room, and she’d been trying to write to Winry and Pinako for the better part of the day, with no success. She couldn’t exactly give them an explanation for their radio silence on the off chance that someone else read it, not that she actually thought she’d be able to put any of it into words.

Hell, she couldn’t even find the words to say to Ed and Al. There had been less than twenty words spoken between the three of them in the last 18 hours, a feat Becca couldn’t remember ever happening before.

“You need to eat something, Brother,” Al said hollowly. “You too, Becca.”

Becca knew he was right, Al was seldom wrong after all, and she knew from past experiences that it was a slippery slope, but she’d been leaning against the couch since they’d gotten back to the dorm late the night before and she just… couldn’t force herself to get up. By the noncommittal grunt from the couch cushions above her, she assumed Ed felt similarly.

“This is the worst,” she mumbled, tucking her head into her knees.

“Yeah,” Ed responded vaguely. “It’s awful.”

Al made a small noise of agreement.

Ed reached up, almost like he was trying to stretch past the blades of the fan, past the other floors of rooms, and into the sky to grab the sun itself. “It always felt like… like the solution to all of our problems were right within our grasp and then-” He clenched his automail fist, “-it always slipped away. Then we finally caught it, and it turns out that it’s too dangerous to hold.” Becca turned over her shoulder, catching the end of a bitter grin. “You think this is God’s special way of punishing those who commit taboos? Doomed to chase empty promises for all eternity?”

“This can’t be the end,” Becca protested.

“Yeah, sure,” Ed said, rolling onto his side. They lapsed into silence. “Bex?”

“Hm?”

“Can you give Al and I a second?”

She looked up from her tight ball, unable to keep a flash of surprise from her face. “I- yeah, of course.” She uncurled, stretching her legs out hesitantly. “I’ll be in the- uh- the shower. Clear my head.”

Al gave a tiny, tiny wave. Ed didn’t move. Becca sighed, but figured a quick, cold shower might do her some good, even if leaving the brother practically fried her nerves. However, she didn’t get to it straight away, catching a glance of herself in the mirror and unable to resist taking a further look.

Boy, did she look rough. Prominent dark circles had apparently taken up permanent residence under her eyes, and her curls, her mother’s pride and joy (and, admittedly, one of Becca’s more favorite aspects about her appearance, just based on how much care Louisa had often devoted to them) were greasy and limp from a lack of attention. She huffed, running a hand through the mess, only to get it caught in a knot, and winced. And that tiny pinprick of pain, for some reason, was the final straw. Unwilling tears of frustration, of pain, of  _ anger _ towards all the crap the universe had thrown at them recently; they welled up and threatened to spill over until she wiped her eyes and scrubbed them away with the part of her sleeve that stretched around her palm and thumb. Then she quickly realized her clothes were uncomfortably dirty. Not filthy, but enough so that bits of dried ink that had stained her sleeve flaked onto her face like dark freckles.

_ Rebecca, you’re being ridiculously. Go clean up this instant. _

“Mom,” she mumbled, shutting her eyes tightly. Her mother might usually be off-base, but her probable advice possibly had a nugget of a good idea. Maybe a shower wouldn’t fix things, but being clean might at least make her feel a bit less… icky. “It’s a start,” she told herself, flicking on the cold water as she toed off her socks. And the cold tile on bare feet shocked her a bit, giving her only a taste of the refreshing cool about to come.

\---

Unfortunately, because of the lives they lived, any quiet had to be short-lived. Because of course it did.

She’d barely gotten over the initial jolts that always came with cold showers when a crash and two screams rang through the dorm. Becca practically tumbled out of the shower, then all but tripped into her undershirt and pants. She didn’t open the door naked, but definitely didn’t have time to wiggle into her blue shirt. Still soaked, she threw the door open, barely breathing, only to see Armstrong sobbing in the open doorway with Ed whispering angrily to Ross and Brosh.

“What the hell is going on?” Becca whispered to Al.

“I think Armstrong pressured the second lieutenant and the sergeant to tell him what we found,” Al whispered back. “He’s not really taking it well.”

“To think, the reality of the Philosopher’s Stone would be such a terrible discovery,” Armstrong lamented. “And our military has condoned it! How awful! Sometimes, the truth really can be so cruel!”

Becca paused, hands fully entangled in her wet hair as she considered his words in the midst of making her usual bun. “The truth… can be cruel,” she said thoughtfully, “but Marcoh- what was it he said? At the station?”

Ed froze as well, pivoting to face her with a wide eyed look. “The truth within the truth.” He clenched his fist, bringing it up to rest over his mouth. His voice was slightly muffled as he ground out, “There’s something more here. Something else Marcoh wanted us to find.” He whipped around to face Armstrong and the officers. “I need to know what other research the military is doing. Maps, dossiers, reports, anything you can get quickly.”

“Of course,” Armstrong said, saluting. “I will stay here and watch over you, but Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Brosh will gather everything they can and meet back here in an hour.”

“Yes, sir,” both officers chorused, dispersing quickly.

“You think this is going to help at all?” Becca asked.

Ed gave her a forced grin. “No idea, but we’ve got to try. You guys ready for a bit more work?”

“Of course, Brother.”

“Always.” Becca sighed, though, then reached for where she’d dropped her towel on the floor. “But first, my mother would be ashamed to look at me right now, so I am going to wash my hair.” She gave the brothers a stern look and requested, “I’m not coming out if you start screaming again.”

Ed laughed flippantly. “You so would.”

She rolled her eyes, not answering except for flashing a smug smile over her shoulder.

“Since we can’t really do much until we have more resources, Brother, you should go get something to eat,” Al said before she shut the door.

“Aw, come on, Al, we’re gonna be busy-”

“And you need to keep your energy up,” Al pointed out. “It’s important to-”

Becca closed the door and flicked the shower back on, unable to stop her smug smile from softening into a fonder variant. Ed would probably protest for a while, but she knew Al would win out. He always did. Becca had never known Ed to say no to him, not even once.

\---

Armstrong had brought back ingredients for sandwiches, Ross and Brosh had returned with armfuls of papers, and they’d spread everything out on the table and floor of their room to start connecting even more dots.

“So the four functioning government labs in Central are found here, here, here, and here,” Armstrong explained, circling the aforementioned spots to form a tilted trapezoid. 

“Their names are easy to remember, albeit not creative,” Ross added. She pointed to each as she named it, “Northernmost is the First Lab, then the Second, then Third, and back up north is Fourth. We found employment records, and Dr. Tim Marcoh only worked at the Third Laboratory. It’s closed now, but you could start investigating there first thing tomorrow morning.”

Becca said, biting her lip. “My father took my brother and I on a tour around all four of those labs on a trip to Central years ago. I know it was a long time ago, but I don’t remember any research that was overtly noteworthy happening at any of them.”

Ed nodded along. “Al and I looked around them more recently when I got certified and there wasn’t anything there then either.” He leaned further over the map, tracing lines between the labs thoughtfully, his brows furrowing. Almost experimentally, he grabbed a pencil and lightly sketched, so instead of a trapezoid, there was a large, five-pointed star. He circled the final point he’d estimated in the southwest part of the city, tapping it with the lead tip. “What’s that building? That one right here?”

“That would be…” Ross checked a different notebook, then said, “The planned Fifth Lab. The foundations weren’t stable, so it was condemned, and now it’s just been abandoned since it could collapse.”

Ed snapped his fingers, circling that location again. “That’s where we have to go.”

“How do you figure that?” Brosh asked curiously.

“Besides being the only place in this city that the government could reasonably conduct suspicious research where no one else could see it?” Becca said. “The pentagram, or five-pointed star, is also an important alchemical symbol. It represents perfection, mankind in the universe, and the five ancient assumed components of alchemy: air, earth, water, fire, and spirit. Of course, we’ve since disproved those, but the allusion still remains-”

“Plus,” Ed interjected frankly, “there’s a prison right next to it.” He made a face. “All the ingredients for the Philosopher’s Stone, an unending supply as long as people are still getting convicted of crimes. Technically, they’d be recorded as executed.”  
They all cringed. “How awful…” Ross muttered.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Ed said, frustrated. “I don’t like it any more than you do.”  
“I know we already assumed that the government was involved,” Brosh mumbled. “But I have to wonder how much the higher up knows. Couldn’t this just be a few ambitious prison wardens?”

“Forgive me for doubting that a couple wardens possess the skills to figure out the code of the Philosopher’s Stone and the ability to do it in total secrecy,” Ed said sarcastically.

“I feel like we’ve poked our heads into something really big,” Ross said to herself, biting her nails.

Al shrugged helplessly. “We  _ did _ tell you not to tell anyone.”

“Either way,” Armstrong said decisively, “everything we’ve discussed is merely speculation. We can’t rule out that this is a misunderstanding or that there is an independent researcher involved. I will look into this and ask around with those I trust at the office, then I will inform you on what I’ve found. Until then, Second Lieutenant, Sergeant, I ask that you stay quiet on this matter. And you three-” He pointed an accusatory finger at Ed, Al, and Becca, “-are to stay here.”

“What, are you grounding us?” Ed said indignantly. “It’s not like we would-”

“Do not lie to me, Edward Elric,” Armstrong boomed. “You were already thinking about going to check in on the Fifth Laboratory on your own, weren’t you?”

“Major, you can’t just jump to conclusions,” Becca said. “Ed’s eager, but he’s not stupid. Of course, we won’t go into a condemned, military owned building just based on a circumstantial hunch. That would be foolish!”

“We’ll just wait here for you, Major!”

“Yeah, we won’t try anything that dangerous.”

The major glanced between them, staring them all down until he was satisfied. “Good. In that case, you all should rest. My subordinates said they saw you all at the library from sun up to sun down for days at a time. Ross and Brosh can bring you anything you need for the rest of the day, but I’m posting them outside to make sure you stay here, understood?”

“Yes, sir!” Ross and Brosh agreed.

“Then I bid you goodnight. I will stop by tomorrow to let you know of any new information.”

The officers followed him out the door, and the dorm was silent for about thirty seconds to make sure no one was coming back in before Becca asked, “So, just checking, we are going into a condemned, military owned building just based on a circumstantial hunch, right?”

Ed scoffed. “Obviously. Like hell we’re just going to sit around after finding that out. How soon can you be ready to go?”

“Just let me grab my boots.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you and your loved ones are all staying healthy and safe, and i'll see y'all in the next chapter! -c


	14. onism

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> iiiiit's thusday my dears!
> 
> so this chapter did end up pretty short, but it's done, and i did so much behind the scenes/planning/jotting down notes for the future over these last two weeks, along with getting a little bit ahead with the next few chapters being all written up or at least planned out. for some reason, i've been thinking a lot about the north arc and the timeskip era? so start lookin' forward to that already i guess.
> 
> college apps are still an ongoing process and i'm just adding 2 more applications now so wish me luck with that shit.
> 
> and finally, given how far i can get in the next week, i might end up uploading the next short chapter next thursday instead of waiting 2 weeks, so let me know if y'all would be interested in that!
> 
> onism (noun)- the frustration of being stuck in just one body, that inhabits only one place at a time

Becca had read a story once about a princess who’d gotten herself and her absurdly long hair stuck in a tower. She’d escaped by scaling down the wall with her own hair, in what Becca imagined was probably a very painful endeavor.

All that to say, while not one of their brightest ideas, sneaking out via a rope of knotted sheets and blankets at least had some clear inspiration. Under the cover of darkness, it really wasn’t that hard to slip away, which might be concerning considering they were escaping a military dorm, but it fit their needs of the night, so it could be worried about at a later time.

“Too easy,” Ed said proudly as they crossed the street, hopping from streetlight to streetlight.

“How long do you think it’ll be until they realize we’re being too quiet and check on us?” Al asked.

Becca gave him a warning glance. “With any luck, they’ll assume we went to sleep and we can sneak back in when we’re done here. Otherwise, I think Ross’ll kill us. So we’re not even going to think about that.”

They’d memorized the route they’d need to take, ducking through dark alleys and past sketchy bars as they got farther away from the city center. As they hustled along, Becca heard a loud scuffle come from down an alleyway, followed by a round of raucous laughter. Unconsciously, she picked up her pace, keeping her head forward even as a male voice leered, “Evenin’, girlie,” from the entrance of the alley. She chanced a look to the side to see a middle aged man leaning heavily against the wall, in a ripped jacket with several teeth missing, then screwed her vision forward again. Al moved noticeably closer to her, blocking the alley.

“C’mon, sweetheart, you babysitting?” the man crooned. Ed stiffened next to her, but he didn’t seem to notice. “You shouldn’t take kids around these parts at night. Have a drink with us, we’ll keep you and the kiddies safe.”

“Who the hell are you calling a kid?” Ed snapped, whirling around. “And don’t talk to her like that!”

The drunk man stumbled forward as Ed strode back towards him, but Becca grabbed his hand and whispered, “Edward, don’t. It’s not worth it. Let’s just go.”

He resisted for only a few seconds, then relaxed and let her pull him away, though he still glared over his shoulder. Thankfully, the man just flipped them off, then went back to his group. “Asshole,” Ed muttered.

“Drunk guys and cities at night are never a good mix,” Becca said, and then, “Is that it?”

Ed turned quickly to catch a look at the huge wall spanning the next block, then tugged Becca and Al to hug the wall they were right next to. He peered around the corner, squinting suspiciously. “Is that a guard? At a supposably unused building?”

“Hmm… strange,” Al noted. “How should we get in?”

“Make our own way?” Becca suggested.

“Nah, someone would see the light from the transmutation.”

“Is there a back entrance?”

“Even if there was, there’d probably be a guard over there too.”

“Well, they put barbed wire up top, so we can’t exactly go straight over.”

Ed craned his neck up to check out the spiralled spikes glinting in the moonlight. He sighed, crossing his eyes. “I don’t think we have another plausible option. You thinking what I’m thinking, Al?” He turned to his brother, who offered a hand. Ed clambered up, gripping Al’s shoulder, and wedged his boot securely into his gauntlet.

“Be careful,” Becca cautioned, “you can’t overbalance or you’ll get stuck, or like, impaled or something-”

Ed laughed. “I’m not going to get impaled. It’ll be fine, don’t worry so much.”

"Ready, Brother?"

"Let's do it."

"1...2... up!" With unnerving ease as if they'd done it a thousand times, Al tossed Ed and he sailed through the air, weightless, until he landed atop the wall, perched precariously between the spikes. Becca let out a relieved breath as he started unwinding and passing lengths of wire down for Al. Once he was up, though, everyone froze. On the other side of the street, they heard an outburst of shouts. Probably more drunks getting kicked out of a pub. Becca looked up and gestured frantically for Al to hurry out of the way. He nodded, scooting over. Both Elrics grabbed onto a metal pole with one arm and leaned towards her, reaching with the other.

“We’ve got you,” Ed whispered. “Come on, quick.”

“Right,” Becca muttered to herself, flashing a thumbs up at him before backing up, looking both ways, running at the wall, leaping up, clawing her way up a few feet until Ed and Al each grabbed an arm and were able to tug her up. Breaths barely passed between them, trying to keep as silent as possible as another crowd of bar hoppers clambered by and, fortunately, didn’t look up. Once they’d rounded the corner without noticing them, all three finally relaxed.

Ed dropped to the ground, then Becca, then Al landed eerily noiselessly behind them. They crept around to the front of the building, on the lookout for any roving guards, but it seemed that the lone man at the gate was the only one.

But then the caution taped and boarded up front door presented a larger problem.

“Well, at least we can assume we’re on the right track,” Ed said. “Who posts a guard  _ and _ blocks off the entrance?”

Becca bit back a remark about how maybe the government was just trying to keep nosy teens like themselves out, instead asking, “So how do we get in?”

Ed sighed heavily and pointed upwards. Becca followed his finger. “You’re not serious.”

“You think I want to squeeze through a vent? But I’d bet that goes all the way into the building, or at least far enough that I’ll find something useful. At least let me take a look.”

“Here, Brother.”

Al hoisted Ed up again, Becca positioning herself carefully behind them in case one lost their balance. Ed pried the metal grate off of the vent opening. “Yeah… it’s not much, but it’s probably the best we’re going to get. You two should stay here, though.”

“What?”

“Uh, no.”

“Come on. I’ll be fine by myself, and, well, Al, I’m sorry, but you won’t exactly fit,” he said guiltily. Al sighed, mumbling something to himself under his breath. “I’d rather Becca stay out here and you two can work together if something goes wrong with one of those guards-”

Becca laughed disbelievingly. “Oh, that’s a nice try, but I’m coming in with you. Al doesn’t need me.”

“Yeah, Brother, you’ve never beaten me in a fight, not the other way around,” Al said.

“At least you can pull rank and say we have a right to be here,” Ed pointed out. “Al can’t do that. I’ll come straight back if I find anything too strange and we’ll figure out a new plan.”

“How about if you find anything weird  _ or _ within twenty minutes- whichever one comes first,” Becca bargained, taking her watch out of her pocket and tapping the closed cover before popping it open and reading out, “9:38.” Ed winced. “I’ll come and find you if you take too long.”

“Yeah,” Al agreed forcefully. “That’s fair, isn’t it?”

Ed’s eyes traced between them a few times, clenching his jaw. Eventually, it became clear that even his natural hard-headedness wasn’t going to win out against both of them and he huffed. “Fine, that’s fair. See you in forty-five, then?”

“Twenty.”

“Thirty?”

“I’m about to make it ten.”

“Fine, twenty sounds great.” He reached further into the vent, apparently a handhold since and tugging himself up further, squeezing into the darkness. “I’ll be back in a bit,” his voice echoed.

Al didn’t move away from the wall for a few moments, staring intently up at the darkness where Ed had disappeared. Becca laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, only remembering he couldn’t actually feel it when he didn’t react. Instead, she had to get his attention vocally with what she hoped was a comforting, “He’ll be alright. He hasn’t met his match yet.” She hesitated, then tried for a joke. “Except you, of course.”

The younger boy chuckled listlessly. “Yeah. I just wish he didn’t have to go by himself.”

He didn’t say it, but Becca knew he wouldn’t be reassured knowing she’d go in after him. What Al really meant was  _ I wish I could go with him _ . And there was nothing she could say or do that would ease his pain concerning that problem. All she could do was try to soothe his worries was let him know that she heard him, that she could listen.

“Yeah, me too.”

Ever so slowly, Al sank down to his knees, twisting so he could sit back against the wall. “I didn’t ask to be this big,” he said sadly.

“I know you didn’t.” Becca slid down next to him, not quite touching but there all the same. “And Ed knows. It won’t last forever, not if he has a say in it. Hell, throw me in there too. We’re all going to help fix it.” She didn’t lean onto him like she so desperately wanted to, but she did scoot closer, like that would extend her offer of support. “I promise, okay?”

Al didn’t respond for a moment, staring up at the stars. Hesitantly, he responded, “Okay,” and then, trying to change the subject, asked, “How long has Brother been gone?”

_ Not as much of an acknowledgement as I’d hoped for, but it’ll do for now. _ She checked her still-open pocket watch and groaned. 9:42. “Not even five minutes.”

Awkward silence descended between the two of them, and if anything was going to set off alarm bells and indicate something was deeply wrong, that was it. She couldn’t recall a time where neither of them could think of something to say to the other. She and Al had been close since the beginning, with the exception of an occasional, stress on  _ occasional _ , spat that was normal between friends, and even then, it wasn’t that they didn’t have anything to say, it was just that they were both more stubborn than they liked to admit and no one wanted to break the ice until the other gave in. And if they were quiet, it was exclusively reserved for moments of reflection or stretches of time when they were working on their own projects but being together. Discomfort was a largely unexplored territory.

As the seconds ticked by and eventually turned to minutes, Becca decided it’d felt like at least ten minutes had passed, so she looked down at her watch again.

9:44.

Thoroughly disgruntled, Becca sagged even further down on the wall. If Al didn’t want to talk, this was going to be a long wait.

Just out of curiosity, she snuck another look at the time, only to see that they were still in the same minute. She sighed as undetectably as she could. “Hey Al?”

“Hm?”

“Do you feel like we’re being watched?”

“A little, but… I’m sure it’s just the aftermath of those guys from earlier. Or seeing the guard.”

He went quiet again. Becca cast a furtive glance around, unable to see anything out of the ordinary but also unable to quell the natural instinct making the hair on the back of her neck prickle insistently. She closed her eyes and leaned further back as if she’d be absorbed into the wall. Yep, it was going to be a while.

\---

3… 2… 1… “And that’s twenty minutes,” Becca announced. She hopped up, practically buzzing. “I’m going in.”

Al creaked a bit, shifting so he could help her up to the uncovered vent. “Bring him back.”

“Kicking and screaming if I have to,” Becca assured, crawling inside. “And then we’re getting out of here until Armstrong can get us in legally. Or at least until daylight. This place is too creepy.”

There was a hollow laugh from behind her. “Agreed. See you soon.”

Of course, because every situation had to go wrong in all the worst ways in their lives, once she’d dropped to the ground inside the building, she swore she could hear the faint clangs of metal on metal from outside. On instinct, she reached back up, going to for the exit to go investigate, but she’d told Al she was getting Ed. And they’d already argued earlier that Al didn’t need her, especially since Ed might have found something worse or gotten stuck somewhere.

Plus, she couldn’t reach the vent on her own. How they were going to get out, Becca had no idea now that she thought about it. She reluctantly stepped away, setting off at a brisk pace down the hall. The sooner she got Ed and they both got out of here, the sooner they’d be able to make sure Al was alright.

But the damn place was a maze, and Ed hadn’t thought to leave any type of trail for her to follow, so she was left to try and put herself in his mind. Passing door after door that just lead into various smaller filing rooms, she could deduce that there wasn’t going to be anything too important in these outer hallways. She’d have to go deeper to find anything worthwhile. But, she pondered when she reached a fork in the hall, had Ed chanced that? Or had he kept creeping forward? She tried to listen down both ways, but there was nothing. No way for her to know what the right decision was.

In the end, she went with her gut. She turned, going further into the lab.

\---

Becca remembered being dragged unwillingly into her father’s lab at the academy. She couldn’t forget the one at the Tucker house. And so she found herself wondering if it was standard alchemist procedure, if one had a laboratory, to have an antechamber of sorts to store all the weird stuff. Maybe it was to ward off potential interlopers from travelling deeper and finding any actual information. If so, they tended to do a satisfactory job.

Her father’s old lab was always freezing to keep his mercury useful and pliant, and Shou Tucker’s held all of his deranged experiments. This one, apparently the lab of one Franklin Harkins from the sign on the door, at the very center of the Fifth Lab, was filled to the brim with aquarium-like containers of red liquid. It illuminated the room slightly, though the light was dull, not quite as luminous as the liquid Philosopher’s Stone Marcoh had shown them.

“What are you…?” Becca murmured to herself, pressing against the glass as if the answer would be floating within the liquid. Obviously, it wasn’t, so she backed off and stepped over to a research journal that had been left open on a desk where ‘66-12-04-94’ had been scrawled in bright red ink. She huffed. A code should have been expected, but it would have been nice to have something easy that night. She flipped through to see if there was anything of use, but there were only more seemingly random strings of numbers. Just in case, though, she ripped a few pages out of the journal and shoved them in her pocket. Best case scenario, they ended up being helpful later on. Worst case scenario, Dr. Franklin Harkins would be missing a few notes.

Further in was a room full of actual research that Becca pointedly bypassed after a cursory search for anything indicating the existence of an alternate alchemical amplifier like the Stone. But unlike other labs, there was another large door. It was deadbolted and solid wood, essentially soundproof from where Becca was standing in the library. She almost turned away, since Ed couldn’t have possibly come through that way and left the door untouched, but instinct compelled her to check. Crossing the room, her eyes caught on a trio of tiny scarlet pocket notebooks, a stark contrast to the stern-looking, hard-covered alchemy texts around it.

_ Well, the color is certainly appropriate, _ she thought, swiping the little books.  _ With the dust here, I’m sure Dr. Harkins won’t miss these. _

Embossed on the front of each were the numbers 48a, 48b, and 66. She frowned.  _ Some type of series? _ She almost poked around to look for the rest, but as she slunk past the door she’d initially been heading for, she could hear the faint but familiar sounds of combat. Her blood ran cold. She pressed her ear against the door and recognized Ed’s distinct shouting from the other side. “How the hell did he get in there?” Becca muttered, tucking the notebooks into her pocket with the ripped out pages in order to free her hands.

One small transmutation and the padlock fell, broken. Becca was quick to catch it- no way to tell how well the person in the next room could hear- and set it aside, then quietly pushed inside and had to stifle a gasp.

Ed, metal arm already transmuted into a blade, was engaged in a heated battle with a man in a suit of armor, armed with a long, thin sword, but… there was something off. Sure enough, when he aimed a solid kick at the opponent’s side, a harsh series of clangs rang through the chamber as the armoured man skidded across the floor. There was a brief moment where his eyes locked on hers from across the room, widening in surprise before he turned back to the man and asked, “Was that just me, or did you sound rather hollow inside?”

“Like a trash can,” Becca snarked, stepping forward and sinking into a combative stance.

“Rather underhanded, getting an ally in here, but impressive nonetheless,” the man said as he levelled his blade across his shoulders, pivoting so he could see both of them. “You figured that out quickly, didn’t you?”

“It’s nothing new,” Ed replied, “we spar with a guy just like you pretty regularly. I know how it feels.”

The armor shook with barely restrained laughter, low voice echoing as he spoke. “You mean there’s really someone like me on the outside, hm? How unexpected.”

“Yeah, and I think it’s pretty disturbing that anyone else would even consider bonding a soul to a suit of armor- I thought I was the only idiot to come up with that brilliant idea.”

As the two of them exchanged verbal jabs, Becca was tiptoeing closer to the man’s back, forming a quarterstaff off of a stone pillar and raising it steadily above her head, only to bring it down when she was close enough, hoping to knock his helmet off and disorient him. Just before she made contact though, the man turned lightning quick, brandishing his sword so Becca had to hop backwards to avoid having her weapon destroyed or damaged.

“Allow me to introduce myself once more, for the lady,” the man said, tone indulgent. “Nowadays, they call me Number 48. That was my number on death row thirty years ago, after all. But in life- or rather, when I had a flesh body- I was the murderer ‘The Slicer’. I am the oldest of the dogs guarding this place.”

“So they are using condemned prisoners in experiments then?” Ed asked, drawing 48’s attention back to him.

48 shrugged nonchalantly. “I wouldn’t know. Not my area. They just heard what I could do and assigned me here for the past few decades to guard against thrill-seeking brats like you.”

“We’re not thrill-seekers, we’re just looking for some answers,” Becca said placatingly. “Were they making Philosopher’s Stones? Did you have to choose between that and this?”

The Slicer stared at her for a moment, red eyes glowing brightly, then laughed. “How should I know? I was a murderer, not an alchemist.”

“But you have to know something about alchemy. What about your blood seal?” Ed prodded.

“I have one, if that’s what you mean.” He lifted his faceplate, exposing a bloody circle that vaguely reminded Becca of Al’s seal, if Al’s was incredibly pointy and rigid looking. “All you two have to do is destroy this and you win, right?”

Ed clenched his jaw, suspicious. “That’s pretty nice, to show us your weak spot like that. You that confident?”

“You could say nice. Or perhaps I just enjoy upping the stakes in combat, nothing more, nothing less.”

“Let’s assume it’s the first one and maybe we can all walk out of this,” Becca suggested.

48 chuckled lowly. “Now, girl, you may think I’m nice, but ask yourself: what kind of killer would I be-” He raised his sword, slicing through the air, “-if I let prey go from right in front of me?”

He went for Ed first, but that didn’t stop Becca from advancing with her weapon as well. And evidently, it was good she did, given that Number 48 had to turn to intercept Becca’s staff and missed Ed’s face going white. Becca, however, saw it clearly, along with the sharp, aborted movement to grab his automail shoulder.

Winry’s reminder rang through her head.

_ “the tradeoff is that it isn't as strong as it was…” _

She had to look away to block 48, then gestured with her chin for Ed to back off. Predictably, he shook his head, opening his mouth to call 48’s attention back to him, but Becca was already drawing the suit of armor towards her with little hops back towards the dark lab. It was going well (as well as could be expected) until Ed caught on and jumped forward himself, spooking 48 into swinging around to face him. Luckily, he missed Becca with his sword arm. Unluckily, his opposite arm nailed her in the gut and sent her flying backwards.

Turned out she was much closer to the wall than she’d thought, and subsequently got the breath knocked out of her, gripping her chest. Ed shouted wordlessly, keeping the Slicer’s attention on him, and backflipped towards the opposite wall. But with his obviously malfunctioning arm, he wasn’t quite fast enough. The blade landed and blood began to drip from a cut beneath his bangs, which spurred Becca out of her daze and back into the fray.

Weaving around each other in an instinctual dance, they were finally able to fight side by side. The Slicer’s sword flashed in the low candle lighting as he slashed and stabbed at each other them, eventually driving the blade straight down and only missing a fatal strike to Ed’s stomach because Becca crashed into his armored side and knocked him off balance. Ed arched his back and kicked up, though he got stuck in a crouching position. Becca stood to his ride, both of them breathing heavily.

48 chortled indulgently. “You’re just like two little monkeys, aren’t you?”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!”

“Energetic prey is always the most worthy of hunting.” The Slicer shrugged. “But you cannot win this, children. You both, unlike me, can become even more fatigued and wounded than you already are.” As he mentioned their injuries, she could feel two large bruises forming on her stomach and back forming alongside the usual bumps and bloody scrapes that always came from combat. She hated to admit it, but the murderer was probably right. He could keep going as long as he needed to even as she could feel the adrenaline coursing through her slowing and Ed was still trying to casually cradle his automail. “Whoever you’ve left outside is surely being kept occupied by my partner. They will not be coming for you. Give up now and accept your deaths with grace.”

Ed raised an eyebrow. “This partner of yours, is he strong?”

“Strong, yes, but not as strong as me.”

Dragging himself back to his feet, Ed grinned wolfishly. “Great. Then I don’t have to be worried. I’ve never once won against him, so your guy doesn’t stand a chance.” He wiped blood out of his eye and raised his arms defensively. “Now come on, let’s go!”

48 shook his head, like a disappointed parent. “Even so, he won’t make it here in time.” He raised his sword once more, prepping for a killing blow. 

Becca shifted forward onto her toes.

“Are you sure about that?” Ed asked.

There was only time for Becca to wonder,  _ What? _ before Ed had flashed a look over the Slicer’s shoulder and shouted, “Do it, Al, now!”

Understanding dawned on her a second later and she lurched backwards, out of Ed’s way. Ed moved forward as well, shoving past Becca and slicing the Slicer’s head clean off. The helmet flew backwards, though, Becca could see as it sailed through the air, the blood seal was still intact, just separated from the body and therefore rendering 48 defenseless. She caught the head by her fingerprints while the Slicer howled, “That was a dirty trick!”

“No such thing as a dirty trick in a fight- oof!” Ed snapped, landing heavily on his side and rolling a few feet. He hopped back up as the remaining empty armor crashed to the stone floor. He transmuted his arm back to normal and staggered over to Becca. “You okay?”

“I’ll be fine. You?”

He shrugged, drawing her attention to his shoulder when it clunked as it moved.

“That’s not good.”

Groaning, Ed laid an arm across his forehead. “Yeah, I know. I am not looking forward to explaining this to Winry. But there has to be more in here, let’s keep looking-”

“Ed, we should get out of here,” Becca protested. Even though 48 was currently helpless, her senses were prickling like they had been outside, like there was still danger lurking around them. “I nicked some things from an office I found, let’s call that enough for tonight.”

“And you haven’t destroyed my blood seal yet,” 48 said. “So go ahead and-”

“Hey, wait a sec, we can just ask him,” Ed said.

Becca huffed, tapping her foot anxiously, but relented. “Okay, but please, hurry up. I can’t take much more of this place.”

“Hm.” Ed poked at the helmet. It wasn’t like the Slicer could feel it, but she was sure it was annoying. “Tell us everything you know about the Philosopher’s Stone.

If he was attached to his neck, Becca was sure 48 would have turned away, along with possibly flashing a rude gesture if he had the rest of his body. “I cannot.”

Ed’s fist clenched at his side as his temper spiked. Becca laid her free hand on his arm and insisted, “Come on, he beat you at your own game. We won.”

“Did I say I’d lost?”

A nearly silent scrape from behind them made Becca frown and start to turn. Her eyes widened. “Get out of the way!” She spun around fully, brandishing her staff, but she was too late. The blade snuck through and-

She heard a strangled gasp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you and your loved ones are all staying healthy and safe, and i'll see y'all in the next update! -c


	15. rubatosis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> merry christmas, my dears (or happy thursday if you don't celebrate),
> 
> i meant to post this earlier and then... i forgot.
> 
> so just imagine me wrapping this and putting it under a tree for you. tis my gift for you.
> 
> and i'm gonna be honest- even though the main motivation for posting again this week instead of waiting two weeks like normal was my own giving spirit because i love you guys, it was also because i put bi weekly reminders to update in my calendar that matched up to when i first started posting and the hiatus i took wound up messing that up, so i kind of just wanted to get back on that schedule. so after this, it will go back to every two weeks.
> 
> in other news... i got my first college acceptance letter! it's so weird, but i'm so excited 🥺🥺🥺
> 
> rubatosis (noun)- the unsettling awareness of your own heartbeat

Sharp pain bloomed over Becca’s side. Automatically, she dropped both her staff and 48’s head to clutch at the new wound, tripping over her feet as she backed away from the sword.

“Bex!” Ed was by her side in an instant, his tight hold grounding her as he gripped her by the shoulders. “How did you-?” The body straightened up, leaning on their sword like a rich man on a cane.

“Oh, my apologies,” the familiar voice echoed from the head. “I forgot to tell you one key detail.”

“The murderer known as the Slicer,” continued the body. Their voice was slightly higher, almost like… Al’s cadence was to Ed’s. 

Becca’s heart sank.

“Was actually two brothers.”

Ed scowled. “Two souls in one suit of armor? That’s a dirty trick!”

“Come now, who was it that told me there was no such thing as a dirty trick in a fight?” the head said coolly.

“And now it looks like you’ll have to run round 2 alone, short stuff,” the body added. “She’s not looking up to any more fighting.”

“Don’t call me short!”

Becca winced, glaring up at the brothers. “And don’t underestimate me!”

As one, they went for their weapons, Ed bringing his hands up to transmute and Becca hitting the ground to grab her staff. The body, presumably the younger Slicer, leapt after them. His leg shot out, clocking Becca’s temple; snapping her head to the side and knocking it against the floor.

Her vision blacked out and she woke up, sprawled on her back, to someone shouting her name. She sat up, gasping for breath, but looked around frantically. It seemed like she’d only been out a few seconds, maybe a minute, but Ed had seen her go down and had called for her. As she was about to respond, her call of support turned into a shriek in her throat when the body got a lucky hit while Ed was distracted and slammed him into a pillar with the hilt of 48’s sword.

He choked out… something- Becca couldn’t quite tell what the word was supposed to be, but that was enough to get her back up and tottering towards him. 

But Ed wasn’t getting up.

Becca couldn’t help herself. The image of Ed crumpled in the streets of East City, not even flinching away from Scar, kept twisting through her mind.

Why wasn’t he getting up?

It wasn’t raining, it wasn’t cold, it wasn’t dark like that day. Hyper aware of her surroundings, Becca knew the room was warm, almost comfortable, and bathed in candlelight. Candlelight that glinted off the sword, off the armor.

And the Ishvalan- Scar, they were calling him- acted like the brother was now. The headless body had slowed down to savor the moment, and she could practically see the large shadowy figure he must have been, bearing down on his victims on the outside. She didn’t hear him, her head still ringing (or maybe it was spinning. She couldn’t be sure), and only focused on getting to Ed. When she got to him, she couldn’t sit down, because she knew if she sank to the ground to wrap him up and protect him like she couldn’t do last time, like she so desperately wanted to, then she wouldn’t be getting back up. Instead, she gritted her teeth and mumbled, “We are not dying here. You said you wouldn’t give up again, Ed. You promised.”

Ed’s head lolled backwards, face up towards her, blood still spilling from the laceration on his forehead, but upon digesting her words, his eyes sharpened. He scrutinized the younger brother’s cocky stance for a moment, and Becca could see his muscles tense up. He had a plan to get them out of this. He clapped his hands as the body of the armor finally struck, sword extended, but Ed reached forward too.

There was a horrible screech of metal on metal, followed by the crackling energy that always surrounded transmutations. Rather than transmuting his arm and simply separating the arms from the legs, Ed had swooped under the Slicer’s outstretched arm and blasted the armor cleanly in half. Just as quickly as the second fight began, it was over. Becca made a note to ask Ed where he’d come up with that particular move when he wasn’t clutching his abdomen, slumped against a column and close eyed in exhaustion.

She was tempted to join him, but there was still work to be done. First, she nudged the empty metal legs with her toe and verified, “There are only two of you, right? You’re not going to say there were actually three brothers?”

“No,” the head said begrudgingly. “It’s just my brother and I.”

“How pathetic, Brother!” the body whined, detached arms flailing. “That damn kid messed me up bad!”

Becca cringed, poking at the disembodied torso as well. “Quit it, please. That’s… creepy.”

“Yes, it is a little pitiful,” the elder admitted, “but we’ve lost. You two did win.”

“Great,” Ed wheezed. “Now tell us everything about the Stone. We’ve earned it.”

“The only thing you’ve earned is the chance to escape with your lives,” the elder 48 said. “We can’t tell you anything. Just finish it and get out, alright?”

_ Finish it? _ Becca faltered, trading a look with Ed before confirming, “We- uh- we’re not going to kill you.”

“Why ever not?” the head demanded, sounding offended. “You’re pitying us too?”

“Spare us the roles of being murderers,” Ed said tiredly. “We don’t kill other people.”

“Ha, right! You wouldn’t be killing us, you’d be destroying us,” the younger brother said. “We can’t be killed, the scientists said that was a perk of agreeing to this.”

“With bodies like these, are we even really human?” the older one added.

Ed sighed and closed his eyes before he said firmly, “If I decide that you two aren’t human beings, then that means my little brother isn’t either. I know he is, and that means you guys are as well. I won’t kill you. Nothing could ever drive me to take another person’s life, no matter the state of their body.” 

Leaning back against the stone, Becca nodded in agreement. Her hand floated up to rest over her bleeding side as she tried to breathe through a sudden wave of pain from her pounding head, and she missed the first few quiet chortles 48’s head echoing out. However, there was no mistaking them as they grew louder, the man sounding unhinged to everyone in the room, including his brother, who worriedly called out for him to calm down.

“Don’t you see?” the head said incredulously, still giggling between words. “Ever since we were young, we’d lie, cheat, and steal and we were treated like scum for it! We killed and destroyed, we lived like outcasts! But now… in these pseudo-bodies, you treat us like humans for the first time! Don’t tell me you don’t see the irony.” The brother calmed down significantly, voice smooth and lighter than it had been throughout the fight when he continued, “You said you wanted to know about the Philosopher’s Stone-”  
“Brother!” the younger one interrupted, frightened. “We’ll be punished if you-”

“We’re going to be punished for letting intruders get the best of us. And we’ve already died once. There’s nothing to be afraid of, little brother,” the first said decisively. “Kids, listen up. I’m going to tell you everything. I don’t know much about alchemy, let alone something as complicated as the Philosopher’s Stone.”

Ed growled, but Becca raised an eyebrow, picking the helmet up to question the brother straight to his face. “Then what,” she said slowly so as to not slur her speech, “is the point of asking you anything?”

“Because I know who made it- the ones who told the scientists to allow us to guard this place.”

That got Ed’s attention. His head snapped up and Becca could see him bite back a wince of pain, but this- another clue to track down- was far more important. “Who?”

“They’re-”

A sharp whistle flew through the chamber and suddenly there were two razor sharp… things speared through the older brother and pointed straight at Becca’s nose. As soon as it registered, Becca had shrieked and dropped the helmet, though it didn’t fall, suspended silently on the ends of the thin blades with a clean puncture in the center of the blood seal. A low, feminine voice sighed in the shadows. Becca’s eyes traced the blades back, straight back to the doors she’d come through. A woman stepped towards them, high heels clicking on the floor in half time with the tutting of her tongue as she criticized, “That was close, 48. You know you mustn’t go blabbing to nosy children that come in here.”

She didn’t even notice the second person emerge from the doorway until they spoke. “What the hell are they doing here?” they asked, leering at Becca and Ed. “The Fullmetal Pipsqueak and the… Magician, wasn’t it?” They crossed their arms over their chest and surveyed the rest of the scene. “What should we do with them?”

“Indeed, what troublesome children. How did you find this place?” The woman hummed. “No matter. We didn’t want anyone seeing this, but we can’t change what’s been done.” As she spoke, she retracted the spears into her hand. Before the helmet touched her, though, she had flicked it off like a bit of dirt under her nails. Becca narrowed her eyes, trying to discern where the spears were coming from since she hadn’t seen any light to indicate a transmutation, and realized that 48 probably was like a bit of dirt under her nails, given that the spears appeared to extend from her nails themselves. Horrified, Becca couldn’t even follow the head to where it clattered to the floor, too busy staring at the woman’s hand.

“Brother! Brother!” the body cried. The torso scraped across the floor as one Slicer used his arms to drag himself over to the other. He clutched the empty helmet and shouted, “Damn it, you bastards! We can still fight, give me my brother back and give us a new body and we can fight for you, we’ll-”

“Give  _ me _ a break, you nitwit!” the other person said, rolling their eyes. They picked up 48’s fallen sword, swinging it around a few times before stabbing straight down. They barely missed the blood seal, but didn’t relent, skewering the armor again and again, repeatedly puncturing right next to or on the edge of the seal, making the remaining brother squirm and convulse as they chastised, “You almost killed, not one, but two of our most important sacrifices! More than that, you almost told them everything! Believe me, I’m doing you a favor rather than forcing you to explain yourself if the plan goes wrong because of you two! Say something, you stupid twat!”

Becca looked away, but when the continuous scraping finally quieted and the person still didn’t stop, she swallowed her fear down and begged, “Stop it! Please, he’s already gone, just stop it!”

The person poked the armor a few more times, then made a disgusted noise. “Weakling,” they scoffed, kicking the armor’s limp hand away. They stepped over the torso, past the legs, and sat back in their hip, sending a cocky smile at Becca and Ed. “But really, how are you two? Magician, you sure are looking lively.” Becca scowled, but they pressed on in a peppy voice. “It’s a little impressive you managed to make it this far, so well done!” They winced exaggeratedly. “But you did see some things you weren’t supposed to.”

“Envy…” the woman cooed, her lips quirking up into a smirk.

“Ah, right, I guess I should kill them too.”

Becca clenched her teeth, transmuted the end of her staff into a spear, and swiped at the person, not doing much damage outside of scratching them across the face, but forcing them to back off all the same. “I’d like… to see you… try,” she whispered.

Both of the newcomers’ laughter boomed across the open chamber and Becca had to resist the urge to close her eyes against the pain in her head as they kept advancing, like predators stalking their prey. And Becca was pretty damn tired of feeling like prey. She lunged forward again, only to be stopped short when the woman’s nails shot towards her again. A shooting pain made her vision white out, and it was only when Becca had already collapsed to her knees that the woman flicked her fingers away and droplets of her blood flew off that Becca realized she had dug the pointed ends into the existing wound on her side.

“Not so fast, girl,” the woman said, taking on an unprecedented threatening tone.

“Aw, the great Fullmetal Alchemist needs his little girlfriend to save him?” the other person said, sticking out his tongue mockingly.

Incensed, Ed struggled to his feet and a wordless battlecry left his lips as he kicked straight up at the person, who still, infuriatingly, managed to dodge. They laughed incredulously. “Would you look at that? The pipsqueak’s getting violent, I think I made it angry!”

“Don’t call me a pipsqueak!”

The person huffed and rolled their eyes. “I’ll call you whatever I want,  _ pipsqueak _ . Especially since it seems like you have bigger things to worry about. Your little friend’s not looking so good.” They pointed at Becca, unable to stand and pushing herself back towards the column to see if she couldn’t use it as leverage, then cast an appraising look over Ed, bloody and sweaty. “And neither are you.”

“You’re the ones who started this,” Ed lashed out. “But I’ll sure as hell finish it-”

He brought his hands up, but instead of the usual clap, the only sound in the chamber was a heavy clunk right before his metal arm went limp. 

Ed stiffened. 

Becca’s eyes widened in alarm.

The woman raised a brow. “An automail failure?”

The person cheered. As quickly as Ed could move, he wasn’t fast enough to avoid them grabbing him by the braid, effortlessly holding him in place in order to ram a knee into his gut. Ed choked and Becca grimaced. His abdomen had already taken a beating, and that was apparently the final straw. He went limp, dead weight, the only movement being the coughs that wracked his body in order to force breath into his lungs and only being held up by the tight grip the person had on his hair.

“I was only joking about killing you,” they said sweetly, letting go.

Ed dropped like a rock next to her. Becca grabbed for his hand, clutching it and even sliding her thumb up to rest on his pulse point. His heart was racing, but it was reassuring all the same and she squeezed tightly, blocking out what their attackers were saying to focus all her energy on hoping, praying he was coherent enough to respond. She couldn’t get him out on her own, he’d have to be awake, otherwise there would be nothing she could do- 

One second.

Two seconds.

On the third second, ever so light, there was a squeeze back. Becca sighed in relief, resting her head on his shoulder.

“You guys are lucky you’re already so injured!” the person chirped. “Otherwise, I’d have to rough you up even more! So don’t forget that, alright?” They bent down, breath ghosting over Becca’s ear as they murmured, “We’re the ones allowing you to live another day.”

She shuddered and closed her eyes tightly, both to hide the fear their words prompted and to block the lightheadedness that was swamping over her. Vaguely, she felt something drop onto her head, which she assumed was Ed, as well as heard the woman’s casual tone- far too casual, in Becca’s opinion- murmuring, “Now what should we do with this ramshackle lab then? We can’t have them poking around again.” She chuckled faintly, all sounds fading rapidly while Becca tried to force herself to open her eyes, to stay awake and listen. “Or at least not give them any evidence when they do.”

“It would be so much easier to just kill them,” the other one snickered.

“Not with the plan this far into the last stages,” the woman said. “We need them.” Becca managed to pry her eyes open, only to see the woman toss her long hair over her shoulder and sashay away. “Besides, it’s not like they’ll actually do anything with the Stone.” She paused, staring up at a large mural carved into the wall, then looked over her shoulder, violet eyes meeting Becca’s. “So blow the place up.”

\---

Why were they moving so roughly? It felt like the ground was shaking, or maybe Becca was just shivering-

\---

_ Becca’s pudgy, mittened hand rubbed fat flakes of snow out of her face as she stumbled up the hill after the little wooden sled Will had borrowed from the innkeeper. She didn’t want to get left behind, but her father hadn’t wanted to risk their training schedule, so he’d insisted they both bundle up an absurd amount. In the midst of her waddling, she tripped face first into one snow bank. Tears automatically welled up in her eyes, and Will was by her side in an instant, bent down to one knee and brushing the ice off of her freezing cheeks with his free hand. _

_ “Sorry,” she whimpered. _

_ He was laughing. “Hey, hey, you’re okay. It’s alright. Come on, I did all this work to get Dad to let us have fun, don’t cry.”  _

_ Becca buried her head in his stomach. “Don’t like cold,” she mumbled. “I wanna go home.” _

_ “No, no, no, listen. We hardly ever get snow back home, you’re just not used to it. Go down the hill one time. You’ll like it, promise.” _

_ “Come with me?” _

_ “Of course.” _

_ He offered his hand, sitting her at the forefront of the sled, then climbed on behind her and tightened his grip around her waist. _

_ “Ready?” _

_ She nodded, and Will kicked off from the top of the hill. “Hold on!” Will called as they neared the steep slope. Becca’s muscles tensed in anticipation and then squeezed Will’s hand around her middle and then- _

_ They flew down the hill, bumping and rocking over the ridges, and Becca froze with instinctive terror. But with Will whooping happily behind her, chilly wind whipping around them, and the snow spraying up around them, she couldn’t stop a smile from stretching across her face and a small giggle from escaping. _

_ “Alright, here comes the bottom,” Will warned, then dug one heel into the snow, bringing them into a sharp spiral and a slow stop. Overbalanced, Will tumbled off the edge of the sled, and Becca shrieked with laughter, climbing off as well to hurry over and jump onto his chest. “Oof! Becca!” _

_ “That was fun!” she cheered, sitting up on his stomach. _

_ “Wanna go again?” _

_ “Yeah!” _

_ “Okay, help me up, let’s-” _

\---

“-go… this way!” Metal on metal clanked nearby. Becca furrowed her brow. The sled was wood, not metal. So what was-

\---

_ “How are you so big,” Becca panted, “and so fast?” _

_ “Lots of practice,” Al said kindly, grabbing and easily twisting her fist to shove her to the ground. “And good training. But you’re holding your own very well, especially since you’re still healing.” _

_ “And you’re too nice while you’re kicking my ass,” she complained. She tucked her legs under her, propping her chin up on her elbow, and gestured for him to sit next to her while she grabbed a drink. She offered him some, then faltered, then winced. “Oh, sorry, Al, I just-” _

_ Al held up a hand. “Becca, please. I don’t mind. I like hanging out with you even if I can’t eat right now.” _

_ She smiled, looking away. “Alright.” _

_ She couldn’t comprehend how Al was so chipper and sweet in his situation, but she was glad he was. Something in the universe wouldn’t seem right otherwise. “Do you want to call that quits?” he asked. “You shouldn’t push yourself too hard when you’re still healing-” _

_ “No way,” Becca said, bumping his shoulder with hers. “Even the Freezer can’t keep me down that easily. Just give me a sec to catch my breath.” _

_ True to her word, it felt like only a few seconds until she was back on her feet and raring for another match. Al got up as well, faking a sigh, and readied himself again. Like he had all morning, they circled for a few moments, and then Al struck first. Becca managed to block a couple of his punches before his long leg tripped her up and promptly swept her feet out from under her. She lost her breath, but once she’d regained it, she just burst into laughter. _

_ “Thanks for sparring with me,” she said sincerely, sitting up and rubbing her already sore back, “but that might have been my last round for today.” _

_ “That’s okay,” Al replied. He crossed his legs and sat back on his hands, then scooted a bit closer to her. She leaned over onto his shoulder. “You’re really doing okay?” he checked in. _

_ “I’m fine,” she said. “My neck is all healed up, the thing with MacDougal’s just a puncture wound, you know. I’m just a little out of practice since I haven’t had my dad running me ragged, that’s all.” _

_ “Alright,” he said hesitantly. Given what she’d gathered from Al, he probably wouldn’t press any further, but his naturally sweet presence might practically elbow more details out of her if he didn’t let out a distracted little, “Oh! Hello!” and twist to the other side. _

_ Becca peered around his breastplate, only to see an orange kitten nudging up against his gauntlet. “Oh, how cute,” she cooed, scritching the little cat behind his ears as Al scooped him up, the kitten seeming even smaller in his large hands. “Where did you come from?” _

_ “He must be a stray,” Al suggested, allowing the kitten to scrabble up his arm and across his shoulder. “Maybe we could take him back to the dorm.” _

_ She hummed sadly. “I don’t think he’d have much fun on the road. He could get hurt.” _

_ Al sighed, disappointed, but offered the kitten his palm and lowered him down to the ground, allowing him to meow once before scampering out of the park and back towards the busier streets. “You think he’ll be happier here?” _

_ Becca carefully laid what she hoped was a comforting hand on his shoulder where the cat had sat. “He’ll be fine. I’ve already seen a bunch of businesses putting leftovers and water out for strays. Let’s get out of here?” _

_ He shook himself off, standing up to his full height and feebly joking, “Yeah, it’s almost noon. Brother might actually be awake by now.” _

_ She chuckled, nudged his arm, and allowed him to guide her through Central. _

\---

“What happened…?”

“...How long…”

Becca was being shoved around, knocked against clothed figures, and she wasn’t moving on her own- someone was pulling her along, someone was holding her hand-

\---

_ “The bank is this way,” Ed was saying, “and they set my account up right after I passed my test, but I didn’t check in before trying to access it the first time and I ended up having to call Colonel Asshole to verify that it was me and I hadn’t stolen my own watch.” _

_ Becca still flinched a bit at the crudeness in reference to their commanding officer, but Ed seemed to miss it as he bounded up the stairs towards the bank’s large entryway. It was on the same street as the other military buildings, like the dorms, where Al had volunteered to stay and finish packing before they headed off to Youswell, and the library.“I mean you can’t blame them, it had to have been a little weird…” _

_ Ed shrugged. “Either way, at least they- uh- recognize me by now, so I can vouch for you.” _

_ “Recognize you specifically?” _

_ “Because this branch is like my base since Mustang’s stationed here!” he said indignantly. _

_ Becca covered her mouth as a laugh slipped through. “Of course.” She hummed thoughtfully, looking up when they entered. Contrary to the outside, the inside of the building was rather plain- well-furnished and clean, but nothing like the stately exterior. There was one counter in the center of the main room, flanked by lines of phones on the half nearest to them and doors leading to what Becca assumed were offices behind the tellers. The entire place, much like what she’d seen of headquarters, was utterly beige, with some incredibly tasteful splashes of gray. God, maybe once she’d paid her debt, some of her salary could go to getting the military a competent interior decorator. _

_ And the silence. Their footsteps were muffled by the carpet, but somehow, they were still louder than the whispered conversations everyone else was having around them. _

_ A teller in the middle of the counter was in the midst of a conversation on the phone when they approached. Annoyance flashed across her face for a split second before either professionalism or realization took its place. _

_ “Fullmetal,” she greeted cordially. “How can I help you today?” _

_ “We’re here for me, actually,” Becca said quickly, pulling her watch from her pocket. “Rebecca Harper, the Illusion Alchemist. I need to set up my account.” _

_ The woman leaned over, raising a cool brow as she examined the watch-  _ Becca’s _ watch, how strange was that- for authenticity. Ed, who’d stepped back, checked in with a thumbs up when Becca looked back at him, unsure of how long this process was supposed to take. “Alright,” she said after a moment of scrutinizing.  _

_ She walked away without another word and Becca raised an eyebrow of her own. “So… is that all?” _

_ “Paperwork,” Ed explained, coming up behind her as a line started to queue behind him. “People can be kinda weird about State Alchemists, plus the whole ‘kids ranking higher than them’ thing. Either way, they expect me to be rude and belligerent all the time. You get used to it.” _

_ “Maybe they’re just weird about you. You did do something to be ‘recognizable’,” she reminded him hesitantly with a gratuitous use of air quotes. _

_ Luckily, he didn’t seem offended at the jab, grinning widely and elbowing her in the side. He opened his mouth to shoot something back, likely to defend himself like he had before, when the woman came back with a sheaf of papers. _

_ “The Fuhrer left specific instructions as to how your account was to be split up,” she droned, “so if you need to look over that contract it’s under the-” _

_ “No need, I already discussed it with him,” she cut her off, then flushed as she muttered, “Sorry. Go on.” _

_ The teller looked surprised for a brief second before seemingly remembering who she was talking to and setting her expression to a stony nonchalance. “Of course. In that case, just sign here, here, and here, please.” _

_ Becca did just that, jotted down her account and ID numbers at the top of her journal, and tucked her watch back into her breast pocket while the woman filed her papers away. “Have a nice day,” she said listlessly. _

_ “Thanks, you as well,” Becca said politely. _

_ The woman blanched, blinking, surprised. Becca bit her lip, then waved. Ed bounded up to her with a bright smile. “Easy,” he said, bumping her shoulder. She paused, considering, then bumped him back as they hurried back into the sunlight and were immediately met with a large crowd of the early commute, rushing either way on the sidewalk. _

_ “Great,” Ed huffed. Thoughtlessly, like the easiest thing in the world, he grabbed her hand to make sure they didn’t get separated. “Lucky we don’t have far to walk, yeah?” _

_ Becca stiffened, then relaxed. “Y-yeah.” _

_ Their eyes met and they pressed on through the swarm of bodies, sharing a secret smile between them- _

\---

Vague pain spiked again with pressure on her torso. Did Ed lose his grip on her and she got hit by a damn car?

No, no, he wouldn’t have let that happen, he wouldn’t have-

\---

_ “He wouldn’t have let us get seriously hurt, Mom,” Will reassured. _

_ “Yeah, we were just sparring,” Becca echoed. “Dad would have stopped us if we were gonna get too hurt.” _

_ Louisa let out a breath as she packed an ice pack onto the bruise on Becca’s stomach, stretched across the kitchen countertop. “Of course he would,” she said, and even at eight, Becca could sense the forced lightness in her voice while her gentle fingers danced across Becca’s numbing torso. “But Will, maybe you could be a little more careful with your sister?” _

_ Will looked disgruntled, or maybe slightly guilty, and he kicked the air from where he’d perched on the kitchen counter. “I try,” he said earnestly. “But Dad insists-” _

_ His mother silenced him with a sympathetic look. “I know, honey. I’m sorry. I know you’re trying.” _

_ “And I don’t want him to go easy on me,” Becca interjected, sitting up. She winced, then laid back down. “Ow.” _

_ The floor creaked, and Louisa froze. Will went still. Becca twisted to see the doorway, only to see an upside down version of her father lingering under the archway and shied away. _

_ Her father growled, low. “You’re babying them,” he observed coldly. _

_ “I’m making sure they’re healthy,” she shot back, standing up to make an ice pack for Will’s black eye. _

_ He leaned over Becca, frowning. “You’re not always going to have someone to take care of you,” he spat. He turned over his shoulder, slamming the kitchen door as he went. All three of them flinched. _

_ “Sorry, Louisa,” Becca muttered, curling up. _

_ “Yeah, sorry, Mom,” Will said. _

_ “Shh…” Louisa soothed, taking a turn to run her fingers down each of their cheeks with one hand. “It’s alright. I know you’re both doing your best.” _

_ Becca leaned into her touch, then let out a whimper of pain as it stretched her torso. _

_ Louisa opened her mouth, but the voice that came out, while familiar, wasn’t hers- _

\---

“Hold still for me, Illusion-”

\---

_ “Louisa, what’s-” _

_ She spoke again in a different woman’s voice, but it still wasn’t hers- _

\---

“When will they wake up?”

\---

_ The scene was fading.  _ She _ was fading. Becca reached out, arm clutching her stomach to stifle the pain as she cried out, “Please, don’t go, I’m sorry-” _

\---

A cold hand smoothed down her forehead. “It’s alright,” a high pitched voice reassured.

And though it wasn’t Louisa- it was growing more sure that it couldn’t be Louisa- and she couldn’t quite place it, she knew she recognized that voice. “You’re alright.” They- he, it was a he- hesitated, then added, “Rest now.”

\---

When she shot up in a hospital bed, it had felt like only a few hours. There were no clocks, and it was dark, and briefly, Becca wondered if she’d even woke up at all, or if she was dreaming again. She could practically feel Louisa’s fingers tracing her abdomen for a second before the pain kicked in and she groaned.

“Good to see you too,” the commanding voice from when she’d been flashing between consciousness and sleep said from the shadows. Becca narrowed her eyes, realization dawning. “Sophie?” she asked, confused.

“Right in one,” the dark haired nurse said, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

“Where’s-”

Sophie raised an arm, pointing to Ed’s silhouetted form, peacefully still in a bed by the window. “The other boy is outside.”

“You didn’t let him in?” Becca asked, affronted. “He can sit in here-” She swung her legs over the side of the bed to go to Al, apologize for leaving him alone, but was stopped by a throb of protest from her stomach and back as well as a stern hand on her shoulder pushing her back down.

“He knows he’s perfectly welcome. He hasn’t taken us up on the offer,” Sophie said evenly, easing her back down. “Maybe he didn’t want to be in the way and he’ll come in when you wake up tomorrow. You slept through the day, but you’re not done recovering. Go back to sleep.”

“But what about-”

“Your wounds were superficial,” Sophie said, anticipating every question before it could be asked. “Nasty bruises and you’ll need to watch that laceration on your side, but some gauze and bandages were enough. Fullmetal had some internal bleeding and will have to take it easy until his stitches have come out-”

“Stitches?!”

“-so neither of you ought to be straining yourselves,” the nurse said forcefully. She didn’t let Becca get a word in. “Now lay back down and let your body rest. I’ll make sure the boy knows you’ve woken up.”

Becca wanted to protest. However, the prospect of more sleep was becoming more and more enticing the longer she was awake. “You’ll get Al to come in?”

“I can’t make him sit with you, but I will tell him you wanted him,” Sophie offered. “That is the best I can do.”

She nodded slowly, sinking back down against the pillows. “Alright… Goodnight, Sophie.”

“Goodnight, Illusion.”

“Mm… and thank you,” she mumbled.

“It’s just my job.”

“And you can call me Becca.”

She thought she saw Sophie smile a bit as her eyelids fluttered, and she heard a quiet, “Sleep well, Becca.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you and your loved ones are all staying healthy and safe, and i'll see y'all in the next update! -c


	16. opia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, my dears!
> 
> here's a nice long chapter because i kind of got carried away, but i really didn't want to split this one up into two smaller ones because i was on a roll lol. so you get one very long one, then probably a normal length one that's already written and edited, and then i've planned for all of rush valley to be one monster of a chapter, hence why i've allowed myself like a month to finish it.
> 
> and once again, there's been a metric fuck ton of planning for things that won't happen for another like 10+ chapters soooo... yeah.
> 
> anyway, i'm glad i already finished those because folks, i was shaking with rage all of yesterday and i was very unproductive in terms of writing in favor of watching the news as we here in the united states descended into chaos but... at least we got georgia?
> 
> opia (noun)- the ambiguous intensity of looking someone in the eye, which can feel simultaneously invasive and vulnerable

The unmistakable slap of skin striking skin jolted Becca awake, heart racing and eyes wide. And there was shouting. As years of experience had taught her, that was never a good sign. 

It took her a second to adjust, but by the time she’d registered Ross and Brosh standing between her and Ed, she’d already scrambled to the edge of her bed, and all three of them were staring at her. Becca’s eyes automatically fell to a bright red, though quickly fading, uncovered mark on his cheek and her breath caught.

Ross broke the silence first. “And you!” she said sternly. She didn’t yell, which soothed Becca’s racing heart slightly, and didn’t hit her, which soothed it a little more, but, much like Sophie did, she left no room for argument from her or Ed, lecturing them, “You both acted foolish! Not just foolish, but also extremely selfish! Major Armstrong said it was too dangerous to go by yourselves, and he was right! Look what happened!” She gestured wildly between them, up and down their bodies and, more specifically, the injuries they’d sustained. Becca didn’t have to look to feel the ache on her stomach and back, so she just looked away instead. Ross kept going. “Not even mentioning how this could affect the sergeant and I, you all could have died!”

Becca grimaced, an ashamed blush creeping up her cheeks. Ross was right, they hadn’t even thought about possibly bringing repercussions down on their caretakers by sneaking out.

However, in response to her face, the lieutenant’s voice did soften when she berated them again, massaging her temples. “Please, try to remember that you’re still children and you don’t have to do everything by yourselves. You can lean on other people.” She took a deep breath, face muscles relaxing. “You can lean on  _ us _ . We’re supposed to protect you, but we can’t do that unless you trust us.”

Becca bit her lip and Ed looked up at them, guilt plain as day in his expression. “Lieutenant, I-” he started.

Without hesitation, Ross and Brosh shouted in official-sounding unison, “Please, excuse our abusive conduct inappropriate for our station, Majors! It will not happen again!”

“Wh-what?” Becca asked, head spinning with the sudden turn in conversation. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“Yeah, Becca’s right, we deserved that,” Ed agreed. He’d screwed his gaze down at his lap, eyes heavy with remorse. “I should apologize to you guys.” Becca opened her mouth to protest, but he shut her down with a look and a firm, “I was the one who wanted to go in the first place. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too,” Becca said quickly, before anyone, specifically Ed, could cut her off. “Don’t you interrupt me, Edward, even if you brought up the idea, I still went along with it, and I hadn’t considered what might have happened to you two if we got caught. That wasn’t fair.”

“And my punishment?” Ross asked. Becca raised an eyebrow, and she clarified, “For slapping Fullmetal? And shouting at both of you?”

_ She slapped him? _ Becca thought. That much have been what had woken her up and sent her into a panic. She shook her head and let out a breath. “Well, I’m not going to punish you. We need people to be frank with us sometimes.”

Ed laughed dryly, rubbing the back of his neck. “And I think I had that slap coming. It was really only a matter of time. Nothing from me either.”

As one, the lieutenant and sergeant almost collapsed against the wall with relief. Becca frowned. “Why are you two so worried about upsetting us? Have we made you think we’d punish you for telling the truth?”

“Are you kidding?” Brosh asked. “You do know you two are considered  _ majors _ , right?”

“Well… I mean, yeah, but people aren’t usually scared of us,” Ed said.

“Yeah, we actually get talked down to a lot.”

“Either way, we didn’t get certified for the status, or so that people would kiss up to us.” Ed gave the pair a little half-smile, shrugging. “Al and I were just a couple of kids who wanted to use the library. You don’t have to act like we’re these high-ranking officers or anything like that.”

“Really?” Ross asked hopefully, looking between them.

Becca nodded slowly. “Of course.”

The officers blinked, then smiled brightly at each other. “I guess we were scared of a couple of brats for nothing!” Brosh chirped.

“How silly of us!” Ross said.

Ed huffed, meeting Becca’s eye. She just smiled exasperatedly. “They adjust quickly, don’t they?”

“Oh, hey,” Ed said, getting Ross and Brosh’s attention. “Where’s Al? I thought he’d be here.”

Becca furrowed her brow. “Yeah, I asked Sophie to make sure he knew he could sit with us when I woke up a couple hours ago. Have you two seen him?”

“We saw him alright,” Brosh admitted, holding up a swollen hand. “He got the same lecture you two did, but I was the one who slapped him.” He glared at Ross, who looked away while smiling innocently. “Kind of thought I got set up.”

All in quick succession, Ed burst out laughing, then cringed in pain, then cringed in apparent remembrance. “Oh, yeah, that reminds me- I have a whole other lecture in store for me.” He slumped back against the pillows and whined, “Winry’s going to kill me…”

\---

Becca knew Winry wasn’t going to be happy with Ed, especially after she’d specifically told him (well, technically, she’d told Becca and Becca had told him [ _ Oh, God, am I going to get wrapped up in that? _ Becca asked herself. She sincerely hoped that she wouldn’t be on the receiving end of Winry’s wrench]) to go easy on his new arm after she’d had to change its composition. Add on the fact that they probably wouldn’t be able to leave Central until something had been done concerning the explosion at the Fifth Lab so Winry would have to drop everything and come up to see what the problem was since Ed didn’t trust anyone other than her or Pinako with his automail and there was a perfect storm in the forecast for one Edward Elric.

So she let him make the call by himself. 

Brosh excused himself to find a drinking fountain and Ross stayed in the room. They seemed to have agreed that a military hospital was well-guarded enough that they didn’t need to be followed everywhere. Left alone with the lieutenant, though, Becca ran a hand through her hair and snagged it on a knot. She blew out an annoyed breath.

“Could you let the nurses know I’m going to go find a shower?” she requested.

“But your wounds-”

“Can be redressed,” Becca said tiredly. “But right now, I feel disgusting, and it's been a long few days, and I- I just need a break, you know?”

Ross hesitated, then nodded. “I understand. I’ll make sure someone’s here to check you out when you’re done. Do you need any help moving around? I know you didn’t need any stitches, but-”

“Nah, it might-” She grunted, pulling herself up off the bed with the help of a railing around the side. Her breaths came a little heavier, but she managed to finish, “-might hurt a little.” She inhaled deeply, resting her head on the wall. “Okay. I'm good. Is there a cane or something in here?"

"Here." Ross offered a clean metal crutch that a nurse had left. 

Becca leaned heavily on the crutch, closed her eyes for a moment, then grit her teeth and limped towards the door. "Alright," she grunted. "I'll be back soon."

The nice thing about military buildings was that they were nothing if not organized to a tee. Finding a communal shower was easy enough, and, though there were a few others inside, the room was divvied into several small stalls to afford everyone a bit of privacy, with a space to get undressed and keep any belongings between the main space and the actual shower. Becca claimed a stall of her own and made a face at the hospital-issued products, sorely missing her own shampoo and soup back in the dorms. The cold water was expected, if a bit disappointing. Nevertheless, she stripped down, careful around the bandages on her torso, then gingerly pulled those off too. For the first time, she could actually observe her injuries, and sure enough, they were just what Sophie had described. Aside from the minor bumps and scrapes all over her body, up to and including a few on her face that had been obscured by plasters, a large bruise covered her abdomen with, if the dull throbbing was anything to go by, a twin on her lower back. It had been wrapped in a plain white bandage, not so much there to keep it clean as it was to make sure the oily salve coating them sat undisturbed. On her side, formerly covered by its own strip of gauze and tape, a bright red cut interrupted the mess of purples and blues. The laceration wasn't bleeding or oozing pus or something unsavory like that, but running her fingers over it proved to be a bad idea as the skin was still tender and wound up accomplishing nothing aside from making it hurt more. 

In that regard, she supposed the icy water wasn't so bad. Stepping under it numbed each sore area one by one, whether it be muscle, which she was honestly just registering, or an actual injury. She shut her eyes against the spray as she turned to face the showerhead and took a washcloth to her face, scrubbing as much as she could before it started to get painful and she had to move to the rest of her body. With any luck, she'd rub off all the essence of Lab 5 and those creepy people that still felt like it was polluting her very soul while in the pristine hospital.

The slight respite of a long shower turned out to be incredibly needed since Becca ended up having to convince herself to leave. Her stomach growled and she sighed. For years, Al insisted she eat when she was hungry, and, even if they had yet to actually see him, she knew she'd get an earful if he found out she'd skipped. In addition, despite his abrasive nature, Ed was a worrier when it came to anyone he cared about, albeit a surly one who practically shoved meals at her if she forgot or ignored them, and if he’d made it back from his phone call, he’d be saving her food whilst impatiently waiting to eat with her.

She turned off the shower, stepping onto the cold tiled floor outside, shivering for only a second before she’d wrapped herself in a white towel and set to drying off and pulling her linen clothes back on. Eventually, the only thing still dripping water was her mop of hair, which she squeezed as much as she could, leaving it frizzed up but a little drier. She slipped on her shoes, then left, exchanging a few smiles with a few other patients.

On her way back to the room, Becca was almost plowed over by a little kid holding a toy robot. “Sorry, ma’am!” the boy chirped.

“No problem,” Becca assured him, smiling softly, then followed his path back to the dark hallway he’d run out of. “Huh…” she said thoughtfully. She stepped forward carefully and peered around the corner, seeing a row of sinks, a few mirrors, an old couch, and… “Al?”

If she were in an old castle instead of a hospital, Becca might have thought she’d just stumbled across Al’s armor’s twin for how still he was. She had to call his name several more times before he reacted, and even then, it was just an easily missed twitch. He’d already been staring into space, red eyes somehow dimmer than normal, and his voice was listless when he stuttered, “O-oh, hi, Becca.”

“What’s up?” Becca asked, frowning.

“Are you looking for Brother?” Al said. Pointedly ignoring the question, he gestured back towards her and Ed’s room. “You just missed him, the sergeant took him back that way. Maybe you can catch up.”

She stepped a little further into the hallway, reaching out towards his shoulder. “I- no, hey, what’s wrong?”

“I’m fine, Becca, don’t worry,” he said firmly. His armor creaked as he looked away and he seemed to wince, whether it be at the sound or just to get away from her touch. Becca froze.

“Are you sure?” she said hesitantly. “You don’t seem like yourself.”

Al scooted further down the bench he was sitting on, further away from her. “Yeah. I’m okay. I just- I need a second. Brother told me where your room is. I’ll be there soon.”

She trained her eyes down at her feet, backing off into the lighter main hallway. “Alright…” she mumbled. “See you in a bit.”

“See you,” he said forlornly.

For a second, she slowed down, almost stopping and fighting the urge to turn around, but she told herself that Al had said he needed a moment alone and… well he’d never lied to her about that before. She understood, obviously, travelling with two others 24/7 could be exhausting, and they all occasionally had to take a siesta, but from what Becca understood, he’d had several seconds to himself- almost two days worth. Not to mention his generally sorrowful state.

She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. Al was fine. He had to be.

“Hey,” she greeted, pushing the door open. Sure enough, there was Ed, sitting on his bed with a tray full of steaming food in his lap and a matching one set on her bedside table.

“About time,” Ed said as she settled down atop the thin, top-layer blanket with her feet hanging off the side. They shared a laugh, though after he didn’t continue teasing her, Becca could tell that he was just as preoccupied as she was. While she started on her meal, she was struck with a horrible thought- could Al be upset that she left him right before he got attacked and didn’t come back to help?

No- no, he wouldn’t be freezing both of them out over that.

Still, she made a mental note to apologize for that as soon as he joined them. Anything to help get him out of whatever funk he’d fallen into.

But apparently everyone was acting strangely today since, once Ed had slowed down his intake of food, he relayed the weird calm and relative nonchalance Winry displayed during the call to Resembool.

“Did you tell her you got in a fight?”

Ed stuck his bottom lip out, nodding slowly.

“Maybe she’s not surprised because she knew your arm would break if you did anything too strenuous,” Becca suggested. “And you do tend to do things that normal people would find too strenuous.”

“Oh, God,” he groaned suddenly. “Maybe she’s just keeping her rage until she can  _ actually _ unleash it on me in person.”

She started to laugh, covering her mouth and glancing away from Ed just as the door slowly opened. Al shuffled inside, head down, but Becca’s face lit up.

“Al!” Ed said excitedly, any anxiety about Winry’s impending arrival disappearing upon seeing his little brother.

“Hi, Brother,” Al said. His voice was feeble and he lumbered over to sit near the foot of Ed’s bed. Becca narrowed her eyes, subconsciously analyzing how he moved and producing conclusions before she could stop herself, each more upsetting than the last. Could the sluggish movement and lackluster attitude be something sustained from the fight? Was something wrong with his body and he wasn’t telling anyone? Or an attack that nicked his blood seal? She forced herself to shove those to the back of her mind.

“Hey, Al?”

“Hm?”

“I’m sorry I kinda… dipped on you back at the lab. The guys we were fighting said there was someone ‘taking care’ of you-”

“No, Becca, it’s okay,” Al said quickly. “I was fine. Brother needed you.”

“Al-”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, resolute, and twisted away from her to stand in front of the window, surveying the hospital courtyard.

Becca’s voice, however, had frozen in her throat. She forced herself to swallow. “Okay,” she said quietly.

Ed had also halted, a spoonful of food halfway to his mouth. His eyes flicked to Al’s form, silhouetted against the sunny sky outside, then over to Becca. He mouthed a silent,  _ You okay? _ to which she nodded and replied,  _ Is he? _

\---

Over the breakfast hour, Ed was evidently bored, flicking through a stray magazine, Al was uncharacteristically silent and crouched up against the wall, Ross and Brosh were dozing by the door, and Sophie was hovering around Becca, smoothing the same sticky salve from the day before onto her bruises when her ears pricked up at the sound of running footsteps outside. Seconds later, the door slammed open and-

“My God!”

Ed yelped, bringing the magazine up to cover his face like that would protect him, while Sophie jolted and poked a particularly tender spot and Becca let out a short cry in response. 

“Hey, Winry… how was your train ride?” Ed said.

“You didn’t say it was this bad on the phone! You said the nurses were being overdramatic!” Winry said incredulously, surveying their injuries. Her wide eyes narrowed suddenly and she heaved a heavy breath. “You’re always worrying me!”

“They are being overdramatic!” Ed insisted. Becca noticed Sophie rolling her eyes and chuckled to herself, but Ed continued on the other bed, “I feel fine, but they won’t let me leave!”

“Heaven forbid- ow, sorry- that the healthcare professionals do their jobs and follow their training,” Becca noted, then twisted as much as she could towards Winry. “If it makes you feel better, Winry, I only look a little worse than I feel.” Sophie pressed gently on her ribcage to stick a protective bandage down so she could start wrapping it, making her flinch again, and she added, “Still hurts, though.” She smiled up at Major Armstrong, who’d come in after he’d exchanged pleasantries with the officers at the door. “And good morning, Major.”

Sophie hummed, raising a cool brow at Ed over her shoulder. “You weren’t the one with the most severe injuries, Miss Harper.” She stood, having finished redressing Becca’s wounds for the day, and crossed to Ed.

After waving her concern off with one hand and tossing back his last handful of strawberries with the other, he started taking off his own bandages as Sophie prepared a cleaning solution. “I heal quickly”

“But still…” Winry said, voice suddenly softer. “You’re  _ really _ really hurt, aren’t you?”

Ed paused in his unwrapping. His eyes flickered up to Winry and he met her gaze head on, pausing for only a moment before giving a half-hearted, “I mean, I guess?”

“Oh…” she said meekly. Tentatively, she lowered herself to sit on the edge of Ed’s bed. “Ed, I’m so sorry,” she said, looking down at her lap, shaking. “Your automail broke because I didn’t do a good enough job maintaining it last time you came to Resembool, and now you’re both stuck here because of my mistake…” She looked over at Becca and offered, “I’m sorry to you too, Becca. I should have made sure everything was in perfect working order before I let you leave.”

“Winry…” Becca said, exchanging a panicked look with Ed that seemed to go unnoticed by Winry, if not literally everyone else in the room. Armstrong, Ross, Brosh, and hell, Sophie had paused cleaning Ed’s wounds to instead pay attention to them. Even Al had perked up slightly, straightening up to observe. They all looked like they were watching a particularly enrapturing train crash, simultaneously horrifying but impossible to look away from as they looked between Ed, Becca, and Winry.

“I-it’s not your fault!” Ed said suddenly. “You had said not to be too rough on it, a-and I totally ignored you by getting into this reckless fight- my arm was perfect, it’s always perfect when you do it!” He flapped his arms around wildly as he tried to explain, earning a stern look from Sophie as she actually had to dodge his wayward hands. “In fact,” he said, forcing a laugh, “my arm breaking probably saved us because I would have kept fighting otherwise- so- so just don’t worry about it, okay?”

Becca was nodding through his whole speech, occasionally punctuating it with her own remarks. “Yeah, he was pretty reckless,” or, “We would have kept going if it hadn’t broken when it did.”

“It… worked out okay?” Winry muttered to herself, contemplating. They all held their breaths until she leapt off the bed, energy renewed. “Well, that’s great! Now before I get started on maintenance, let’s talk pricing since I had to rush all the way up here-”

_ That was certainly a quick turnaround, _ Becca thought to herself.

However, as Winry lugged her toolbox up onto the bed next to Ed’s legs, she knocked the nearly-empty breakfast tray and spilled a few drops of the full bottle of milk Ed always left untouched. She turned to saddle him with a firm stare. “You didn’t drink your milk.”

Ed set his jaw in response, affixing his gaze on a passing bird outside the window. “Of course I didn’t. I hate milk.”

She stomped one frustrated foot and snapped, “Don’t give me that crap! You’ll be a half-pint midget forever at this rate!”

“I don’t have to drink it if I don’t like it!” he flung back.

“You’re sounding very spoiled, Edward Elric!” Armstrong boomed.

Everyone else seemed to take that as a pass to speak freely, since the lieutenant and the sergeant commented that milk was necessary for growth (with Sophie citing medical knowledge to back her up) and how girls would like him more if he were a bit taller respectively, and Becca ribbed him a bit by finishing the last of her milk right over Winry’s shoulder, where she knew he could see her.

The only one who didn’t take part in the casual bickering was Al, who had gotten to his feet silently and snuck out the door, Becca only noticing because his long, white hair and breechcloth had swished around the door and drawn her eye. 

“Al?” she called, getting the others’ attention. The jokes died down at once at the out of character display and Becca was left with nothing more than a confused noise in the back of her throat.

\---

“What’s up with Al?” Winry asked, settling down once Ed had stretched his metal arm out across a wheeled cart next to his bed. Armstrong and Sophie had left, each citing other work they had to get to, leaving their room feeling significantly emptier without them and Al.

He sighed heavily, screwing his lips into a small scowl. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “He’s been acting weird lately. He’s not talking as much, like there’s something on his mind. But he won’t tell me anything.”

“Do you think he’s still in shock from when I hit him?” Brosh asked worriedly.

Becca tried, but couldn’t hold back a little laugh. “No, sorry, I don’t think that’s it.”

“Yeah, no offense, but he  _ did _ get half of his body blown up a few weeks ago,” Ed pointed out.

Winry bent over to grab a wrench, muffling her words slightly. “I wonder if he’s worried about something.”

“Maybe…” Ed mumbled absently. “If that was it thought, I don’t know why he wouldn’t tell me or Bex. Yesterday, I tried to talk to him after I called you and he hardly gave me the time of day.”

“Same.” Becca placed her tray on her nightstand, then stood and moved over to the end of Ed’s bed, sitting down with her knees pulled up to her chin against the footboard. “He was sitting in some tiny hallway and wouldn’t even let me sit near him. He kept scooting away.”

“Ooh, I’ve got it!” Brosh exclaimed. “Maybe he’s got a bit of a crush on you, Becca!”

Ed choked, though it was at the same time that Winry inserted a stray screw in his shoulder, and Becca felt her cheeks warm up at that notion. “Please don’t mistake my brother for people like  _ you _ ,” Ed sputtered, burying his face in the pillow.

With that screw, though, Winry finished her work on his arm and pushed away from the bed. “Don’t pout, Ed. Go on and stretch it out.” Ed jumped up, whooping, and Winry got started packing up her things. “Now, don’t make me regret fixing it before the doctors cleared you to move around freely again. You still need to heal-”

“Hey, Ed! The nurses are saying you brought a pretty blonde girl in here to service you!”

Just as quickly as her blush from the sergeant’s accusation had calmed down, it returned full-force with Lieutenant Colonel Hughes bursting through the door, along with an uncomfortable pit in her stomach, the knowledge of which she pushed to the back of her mind. At least she wasn’t alone in the embarrassment this time since both Ed and Winry were equally red-faced at the insinuation.

“She’s just my automail mechanic!”

“Ah, you’ve seduced your mechanic, eh?” Hughes said, nodding sagely.

“That is  _ not _ what I said, were you listening to me?”

Ignoring him again, Hughes strode over to Winry, shaking her hand enthusiastically. “Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes, nice to meet you.”

“I’m Winry. Winry Rockbell.”

“It’s great to see you sir, but aren’t you supposed to be at work?” Ed said suspiciously.

Hughes laughed. “Don’t worry about it! I’m on a break.”

“I thought you said you were pretty busy right now, Lieutenant Colonel,” Becca prompted, resting her cheek on her knees.

“We are,” he assured cheerily, “but I’ve been giving Sheska some overtime! She’s really been invaluable!” At that, Becca blew out a puff of air between her teeth, picturing the bespectacled bookworm probably collapsed over a pile of paperwork.  _ Poor Sheska. _ “I’m not just visiting you, though. I did have a reason to come down here. There’s been some new developments in East City concerning Scar and I think you’ll be happy to know that we’re in the process of clearing you to go on without escorts ASAP.”

“New developments…?” Becca said warily. “What kind of new developments?”

Ed, on the other hand, was grinning. “Who cares? Whatever lets us lose the babysitters is fine by me!”

“Hey! We did help save your life!”

“Yeah, what do you think would have happened if we weren’t there?”

“Hold up!” Winry interrupted indignantly. “How much trouble have you been making to warrant being guarded?”

Crossing his arms and turning away, Ed huffed, “It’s nothing you need to worry about..”

Winry wilted, but she still glowered at him from under her bangs. “I shouldn’t have even asked. You never tell me anything. I don’t know why I even try.” Suddenly though, her eyes brightened slightly and she swivelled to the other end of the bed. “Becca…”

Becca’s eyes widened. “Ah- well- you see- I assume Ed told you about getting in a big fight-”

“Becca!” Ed cut her off, looking betrayed.

“I’m sorry!”

“It wasn’t that big of a deal, Winry.”

She looked between the two of them, gaze sliding up and down the bed a few times to see if one of them would break, but eventually she had to give up. “Whatever. I don’t have time to argue about this right now. I’ve got to find somewhere to stay the night.”

Ed did look at least a little put out at that and offered, “I could put you up in a hotel for the night if you like.”

“Come on, there’s no need for that,” Hughes said genially. “I’ve hosted these three in the past, so you’re more than welcome to spend the night at my place.”

“Oh, no, I couldn’t possibly ask-”

“You’re not asking if I’m the one suggesting it,” he insisted. “It won’t be a problem, my wife and daughter would be thrilled to have you.” Winry looked like she was going to keep protesting, but Hughes grabbed her arm in a tight grip that would be concerning if Becca didn’t know the man was just a very keen host as opposed to a kidnapper. “That’s settled! Let’s go, I’ll take your bags-”

The door slammed shut behind them. Ed tilted his head, staring after them. “At least it’s not just us he’s pushy with.”

\---

Becca almost missed Al returning that night since she was teetering on the edge of sleep when he snuck around the door as quietly as he could. A rather useless gesture, Becca thought, given that her and Ed had both agreed to give him his space but wanted to stay awake to make sure he made it back safe. After nearly nodding off one too many times, she’d made Ed scoot over and dragged her blanket to his bed so they could help keep each other awake with whispered, teasing scoldings whenever someone’s eyes closed for a few seconds too long.

“Are you-” she said out of nowhere, visibly startling him. “Oops, sorry, Al. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, Winry missed you,” Ed added. “And we’re all worried.”

“Fine,” Al said shortly. “Just go to sleep. You both need your rest.”

He sighed dejectedly. “You promise you’re okay?”

“Promise, Brother.”

Ed tried to keep eye contact with his brother, but Al, intentional or not, wouldn’t look at him, intently focused on the floor in front of him. Slowly, his head drooped, resting squarely on Becca’s shoulder. Becca tried to resist sleep as well, and yet within a few minutes, with Ed’s breaths levelled out and the otherwise nearly silent hospital, she couldn’t fight it any longer and let her eyes flutter shut.

\---

Waking up in Ed’s bed instead of her own had certainly been a confusing start to the day. And that was somehow the most normal part. Palpable tension filled the suddenly too small hospital room, practically radiating off of Al. Becca had barely spoken a word for fear of setting him off, and neither had Ed, at least until breakfast was served.

Luckily, she’d moved back to her own bed before another nurse (not Sophie, to Becca’s dismay, because she would have given at least a little bit of a feeling of familiarity) brought in their food. She did not stick around.

As per usual, there was a bottle of milk provided for each patient, and, as per usual, Ed could not resist complaining about it.

“So we meet again, you little bastard,” he grumbled, leaning down to level the bottle with a harsh glare. “I told everyone once yesterday and I’ll tell you again today, I am not going to drink you.”

“Brother, your body is a living body that needs to be nourished,” Al said tiredly. “You need to drink it.”

“No one can make me if I don’t want to,” Ed retorted. “Nobody’s noticed, but I have gotten taller recently, I can feel it. I’ll get a nurse to check before I leave.”

“Ed,” Becca pleaded. She could sense something brewing, like a monster was writhing inside of Al and Ed’s grievances against milk, usually a source of playful mockery, was instead egging it on. “Please, just drink the damn milk.”

He sulked, picking apart a piece of bread. “You’re lucky, Al. I wish my body was as big as yours.”

Becca’s jaw dropped at the thoughtless remark.“Edward!” she said harshly.

Al stood up suddenly, metal feet clanking harshly against the tile floor and the stool he was sitting on tipping over, and he shouted, “I never asked for this body!”

Ed stiffened.

“Alphonse!” Becca interjected, trying to slow the arrival of the now inevitable argument.

“No, I- I’m sorry, Al. That was out of line for me to say, I’m sorry,” Ed repeated quietly. “You’re right. It’s my fault you’re like this, but I’ll fix it, I will. You’ll be back in your original body before you know it.”

“You always say that! But we’re not making any real headway!” Al continued to shout. “Can you promise me that you’ll ever get my body back? Can you promise I even  _ have _ a body?”

“Of course I promise!” Ed said, an uncomfortable smile forcing its way onto his face.

“Where is all this coming from?” Becca asked. “You’ve never doubted that we’ll get there, not like this-”

“How can I not doubt it while I’m stuck in this body? Why shouldn’t I doubt my memories?” Al gestured to his chest, banging his fist against it for emphasis. “When you think about it, memories are really just information that could be fake- just made up, like any other data!”

Ed shrank backwards. “What are you talking about?”

“Before we went to the lab, you said you wanted to tell me something- something that you’d been too scared to say until then,” Al said. That must have been what Ed had asked her to leave for, so he could tell Al… something that had evidently shaken him up. “Armstrong interrupted before you could spit it out, but I think I know what it is: you wanted to tell me that my soul, my memories, everything about me was all just artificial information created by you! That you lied to me, Winry, Granny, they all lied to me all this time! Is that it?” He had stepped forward, chin up like there was some way he whole-heartedly believed what he was saying. But that wasn’t possible- that couldn’t be possible. It wouldn’t make any sense, and Ed wouldn’t do that. Who had given Al this idea and what had they said to make him trust it? “What do you have to say for yourself?”

Becca flinched as Ed slammed both fists down on his breakfast tray, scattering the meal everywhere. All three of them fell into surprised silence except for Ed’s heavy, distressed breathing.

“So that’s what you’ve been keeping pent up and hidden from me in that head of yours? Are you done, or did you have any more revelations?” His shoulders tensed more and more as the silence stretched on.

Al didn’t respond.

“Fine,” Ed said coolly. He placed his tray aside, oddly calm, and stalked past Becca’s bed where she realized she’d pulled the blanket up to her chin sometime during the one-sided shouting match. The only sign of his true feelings occurred when he left the room and purposefully slammed the door behind him.

She swallowed the whispering fear that had engulfed her chest and muttered, “Al…”

His only reply was to turn away, back to the window, and avoid looking at her.

Becca’s lip quivered of its own accord and she stumbled out of bed, almost getting tangled in the blanket, and into the hallway. She only made it a few steps before Ross caught her and she saw Winry and Hughes running over.

“What happened?” Winry asked breathlessly. “Ed just went that way, I tried to say good morning, but he didn’t say anything-” She pointed the opposite way that she had come. “I thought he might have not heard me-”

“Al finally cracked and said why he’s been acting so weird,” Becca explained, breaths coming in short, quick bursts as she tried to calm herself down. “It was- it was really bad. Somehow, he got it into his head that Ed had- had created him, and that everyone who knew him when he had his body was just lying-”

Winry stepped backwards, eyes wide. “Why would he think that?”

“I don’t know,” Becca confessed. “I can’t make any sense of it- of why he’d ever think that- but it hit Ed hard, obviously, and Al’s still in the room but he didn’t want to talk to me- he must be hurting too, he wouldn’t have lashed out like that otherwise-”

Ross set Becca on her feet and Winry squared her shoulders. “I’ll go talk to Al. Go find Ed.”

Becca nodded. “Okay.”

“I’ll send Al to find you guys when I’m done with him.”

That got a small smile out of her and she started walking where Winry had indicated earlier. “Okay.”

“Go! Hurry!”  
“Okay!”

\---

Multiple nurses steered her in the right direction, saying that they’d tried to stop Ed but he’d plowed on listlessly no matter who was trying to speak to him. Their pointing fingers lead Becca to the door to the roof. She pushed it open and stepped out into the sunlight, surveying the open area for any sign of the older Elric. Thankfully, since she didn’t think her nerves could take the stress of having come to the wrong place, she didn’t have to look far. Ed leaned over the edge of the railing, barely visible between a few rows flapping on laundry lines. His chin rested in one hand and he hardly reacted when Becca tiptoed up beside him, a slight glance out of his peripheral being the only indication he’d even noticed.

She didn’t quite know what to say. Certainly nothing she said would fix the problem that had just reared its ugly head, so the best she could do was distract until Winry had gotten through to Al.

“That move you did back in Lab 5 was pretty smart,” she prompted. “The one you used when you beat the second brother. Where’d you learn that?”

A ghost of a smile flickered across his face. “From Scar,” he said softly. “When he was fighting Armstrong. Since he was so much bigger than him, he had to provide an opening to get any hits in. I just saw the opening.”

“Show me?” she asked before she could stop herself, then winced. “Sorry, you probably don’t want to- right now-”

“No, I- I don’t mind. I’ll do it on you considering you’re bigger than me.” He stepped away from the rail, not with his usual amount of energy, but at least not as lethargic as before, and bent into a defensive stance. “Take a few swings at me. I’ve fought with you so much, I think I know what I’m doing, but just to make sure.”

She obeyed, making sure to not actually strike him, but trying to be as close to she naturally was as she could. He studied her intently, dodging the first few before striking quickly, landing an easy hit that sent her stumbling back a few feet. She was unable to stop a surprised laugh. “How’d you do that?”

Ed stood up a little straighter with the praise and, a little spunkier, informed, “You’re already a pretty defensive fighter so when you jab with one hand, the other usually comes up to protect that spot. But sometimes you have to use your opposite hand to balance, and when that happens, there’s your opening.”

“Seriously?”.

“Here, go again, slowly. I’ll show you what I mean.”

Using the same pattern from before, she went at him again, significantly slower. Sure enough, right when he said there would be, at that speed, it was rather obvious that she had to leave her entire chest open in order to get a powerful strike in. He knocked his fist against her sternum, mimicking an actual punch. “Right there. For 48, it was his side with the sword because he had to open up so much to stab with it.”

Becca breathed out an impressed chuckle. “You,” she said, “are so… clever.”

“I know,” Ed preened, an actual smile fighting its way onto his face.

_ There it is, _ Becca told herself, finally calming down fully as she found a set mission. A way to reassure him, maybe get him to talk to her, but not push. “And you’re creative, and you’re kind, and you- you’re honest, you’re stubborn- and you’re somehow the most irreverent person I know and the most humble person I know at the same time and I don’t understand it.” She shook her head, giving a watery chuckle.  _ Oh, God, am I crying? Why am I tearing up? Who said I could do that? _ Ed had stepped back, then towards her, then back again, torn between comforting her and giving her her space and startled into stillness. He looked… unsure, which absolutely would not fly, so she continued, “You’ve never lied to me, not once- okay, well, maybe a couple times, but never anything big and it was always to try and help me so I forgive you- and you know I hate eating by myself so you wait for me even when you’re hungry… And you can joke with me and Al, but when it comes down to it, you’d do anything for us.” She reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder, voice dead serious. “And we’d do the same for you. I would. Al would. I don’t know what he heard, but it’s wrong, and I’m sure he knows that, deep down. Because, above all else, you, Edward Elric, are good.” She closed the gap between them slightly so she could tap on Ed’s chest, right above his heart. “You have a good heart.”

“Becca…”

“I’m not done.” She forced herself to take a shaky breath, flattening her palm against Ed’s body. “Don’t deny it. I’m lucky to have you as my friend. And Al’s lucky to have you as a big brother. He knows that,” she repeated firmly, then a little softer, “he knows that.”

For a moment, she could only hear the wind rustling through the sheets and their hair as his eyes flicked over her face, searching for earnest intent until-

“Is he lucky though?” he whispered, leaning forward until he’d sagged onto her shoulder. “I’ve been a pretty shitty brother. I trapped him in a body where he can’t eat, he has to spend all his nights alone because he can’t sleep. You said you tried to touch him, but he wouldn’t have been able to feel it even if you had, and I did that to him. I pushed him, and he took the fall. I- I got off too easy compared to him. I wouldn’t blame him if he did hate me for it, but to think that I just made him up? You don’t think that, do you?”  
“‘Course I don’t,” she assured.

There was a brief lapse of quiet, and then-

“Why would he- why would he say all that?”

As lightly as she could, she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. “I don’t know. I’m sorry. My best guess would be that someone told him, and that combined with being unsure about what you didn’t get a chance to say-”

“That was it. What I wanted to say.” Ed said bluntly. “I wanted to know if he hated me, or blamed me for what happened.” He laughed bitterly. “Guess I have my answer.”

“He doesn’t hate you,” Becca said. “We’ve all been stressed lately, and that can make people act in ways they wouldn’t usually act. I’m sure that’s it, nothing more. Just talk to him once he calms down, and I’m sure you two can work it-” The door creaked open behind Ed, so Becca was the first to see Al when he appeared in the doorway. Her voice trailed off, “-out…”

Al shuffled shyly onto the roof. “Brother-” he started.

Ed’s body went a bit more rigid against hers and he stood up, pivoting slowly on his heel to face Al. “You know what? With all the sitting down and researching and waiting around we’ve been doing lately, I haven’t had a good workout in ages. My body’s gotten pretty weak.” He kicked off his hospital slippers, stretching his arms exaggeratedly over his head while Al stood motionless, then, with no other warning, rushed him.

“Hey!” Al objected, moving out of his way. Ed stopped easily and redirected himself towards Al again, who continued to try and swerve out of his way, never hitting back even as Ed kept hammering at him. “Brother! Wait a second! Stop!” Ed punched him, then kicked up with his metal leg, nudging him back a few feet and keeping him off balance. 

“Be careful!” Becca called worriedly.

“Brother, you’re going to hurt yourself, your wounds haven’t healed enough for a fight!”

Ignoring them both, Ed grunted, flipping backwards (probably ripping his stitches  _ again _ ), and when Al shifted to protect his helmet against another strike, Ed grabbed a sheet from where it was drying and tossed it over him, the crumpled sheet flapping out in midair and sinking down over Al’s eyes. Ed bent, clutching his side with his flesh hand, but didn’t stop. He deadlegged his brother with his other hand and, when Al went down, kicked up to knock him in the chin, sending him sprawling onto his back. He drew himself up, taut frown overtaking his face. “I finally beat you!” he proclaimed. “For the first time ever, I won!”

He then immediately sunk to his knees as well, though he clearly tried to block out the pain undoubtedly screaming at him from all sides and instead stretched out on his back, the top of his head nearly brushing against Al’s.

“That was cheating,” Al said, sulking.

Becca crossed her arms. “And that was definitely not talking.”

“Oh, that’s rich. A win is a win and you know it. And you-” He pointed vaguely in Becca’s direction, “-said we’d work it out. I did.”

“Yeah, I said that right after I said you should talk to him,” she pointed out. “So talk. You need to actually figure this out, not just beat the crap out of each other until you forget why you were mad to begin with.”

Ed let out a long, drawn out sigh. “We’ve always fought like this, right, Al? Especially when we were little.”

“Uh-huh…”

“And a lot of it was pretty stupid stuff.”

“Exactly,” Al agreed, sounding fond. “We argued about who would get the top and bottom bunk on our bed.”

“Candy too, remember? We liked the same stuff and we never wanted to share.”

“And that toy- the little puppy. I won that one. And that time we played with sticks at the river.”

“You mean when you ‘poked’ me so hard with yours I fell in?”

_ So Ed’s fallen in that river multiple times, _ Becca noted with a quiet laugh,  _ and he still didn’t learn to keep away from it? He must have not changed a bit since he was little. _ She stepped back, giving them a little bit of a bubble as they reminisced.

Al giggled, then changed the subject. “Remember when we would fight during training?”

“And Teacher would say we were being too loud and annoying, then beat us up herself  _ and _ gave us extra chores for the next week? I think we should call that one a tie.”

“We even fought over who’d get to marry Winry when we got old enough,” Al recalled.

Becca raised her eyebrows. The same uncomfortable feeling from the day before stirred in her stomach again. She bit her lip and tried to disregard it.

“What?” Ed’s head snapped to the side and he twisted to try and get a better look at his brother. “I don’t remember that one!”

“Of course you wouldn’t,” Al said exasperatedly. “I won. And I asked her. But she turned me down.”

They sat in reflective silence for a few seconds. Ed even closed his eyes against the bright sunlight, then opened them and asked, “So all this time you’ve thought that those memories were all lies?”

“I- no. No, I didn’t. I’m sorry, Brother.”

“And your determination, getting your body back, all that hope for the future you have- is that fake too?”

“No. It’s not a lie. My body is real, and so is the possibility of getting it back.”

Ed grinned, clenching his fist. “Hell yeah, it is. We said from the beginning, we’re in this together. I’m not giving up until you’re back to normal-”

“And you too,” Al interrupted.

“-We’re going to keep pushing forward. We have to keep growing our skills, getting stronger, faster, smarter, and we will get our bodies back. You hear me?”

Al hummed, like he was considering the offer, then assented, “Yeah, I hear you.”

Ed raised his fist into the air between them. Al brought his own up to bump it.

“Whatever it takes, Brother,” Ed said solemnly, flipping his usual honorific onto Al. “We can’t stop. We won’t stop.” He put his arm down and cringed and Becca decided that, while heart to hearts were nice, medical attention was probably very needed at the point and decided to step in.

“Except we’re stopping right now,” Becca said, leaning over both of them. “Just for a break, yeah?”

“Yeah, that’s probably not a bad idea,” Ed groaned. He pushed himself up to a sitting position, rubbing his gut where the stitches were.

Al sat up as well, then reached over, hooked his hands under Ed’s arms, and hoisted him to his feet, supporting most of his weight even as Ed sputtered out protests. “You’re a dummy sometimes, Brother,” he sighed. “You had to go and overwork yourself to prove a point, huh?”

They lumbered towards the door, movements a bit clumsy, where Winry and Lieutenant Colonel Hughes had arrived during the boys’ sparring session-turned-talk. Seeing the blonde girl reminded Becca of how Ed and Al had apparently both wanted to marry her when they were younger, and that brought the pang in her gut up to the surface once more. Winry, however, was oblivious to whatever Becca was feeling at that moment and offered her a wave, which Becca tried to force a smile and return.

“You coming, Bex?” Ed asked when he noticed she hadn’t followed them to the door.

She blinked quickly, trying to process the question. “I- um- yeah. Sorry. I’ll be there in a minute.” When Ed gave her a confused look, she explained, “The air in there- it’s so stuffy, I’m just going to enjoy the fresh air for a bit.”

“Oh.” He seemed to relax a little. “Okay.”

And they were gone, leaving Becca alone with her thoughts. She slid down the railing, leaning her head back against the cool metal when she was low enough. A tiny smile alighted her face when she remembered the feeling of Ed’s hand resting on her cheek while she slept at the library, a little similar to the rail here. However, before she could get too lost in that memory, she shook herself out of it. 

_ Where the hell did that come from?  _

The fond memories.

The “aesthetic” appreciation during the sunset in Resembool.

The uncomfortable feeling in her stomach that only seemed to show up when Ed was mentioned with Winry- could it be the slight lickings of jealousy?

Unthinkingly, she got to her feet and started to pace. All the puzzle pieces were falling into place.

“Wait a second,” she said out loud.  _ Do I have a crush on Ed? _

She’d read about crushes, of course, and Will had told her about what a crush felt like- you were always blushing and bashful, and you realized things about people you could have known forever that you never noticed before- but she’d never had one! She’d never had the opportunity!

...But what if she had had the opportunity?

For just a second, she let herself indulge, imagining being with Ed as more than friends, and her heart fluttered. And then she snapped herself back to reality with a firm shake of the head.

The Elrics were her very first friends, the first people she’d ever interacted with who were her own age. Not to mention that Ed was her partner. They had to trust each other. This crush- it could ruin everything if Ed didn’t feel the same way. Which he very well might not, given the years-long relationship (romantic or otherwise) he’d had with Winry. And Winry, heaven forbid, if Winry liked Ed, she would never be able to forgive herself for hurting her.

That was when she remembered the other thing about crushes. According to Will, who she believed was a reliable source for this sort of thing since he was the only one of the two of them to go to regular school and therefore had multiple crushes before, a crush, if left unacted upon, would eventually go away.

So that was what she had to wait for. With any luck, it would just be a passing fancy and she could get over it easily and move on. It wasn’t like she’d have any shortage of distractions anyway.

That was it.

Problem solved.

Or problem set to be solved, at least.

And until then, she would just have to act like nothing had changed.

With that little crisis resolved, Becca pulled herself together with a deep breath and made her way back to their room. She heard the sounds of bickering through the door and worried for a second that Ed and Al were fighting again, but then there was a peal of laughter and she relaxed. Everything was back to normal.

She pushed open the door and announced, “I could hear you out in the hall. Glad to know everyone’s cool again.”

“Bex, good, you’re here,” Ed said eagerly from where he’d been sitting on the edge of his bed. “We’re trying to figure out if Al and I fought more than other siblings and Al and Winry say it’s insensitive-”

“Because it is,” the two chorused together.

“-But I have to know, did you and your brother fight like we did?”

Becca couldn’t stop a laugh at the absurdity of the question. “I mean…” She sat down on her own bed, pulling her legs up to sit criss-cross against the headboard as she thought about it. “We had super brief spats pretty rarely… I’d say we were both pretty busy putting up a united front against our dad, so we never got the chance.” She shrugged. “Maybe that’s what he’s been doing. Making up for lost time.”

The other three all stared at her, wide-eyed. Becca paused, wondering if maybe that remark was too dark. Ed lasted about thirty seconds before a tiny laugh escaped and he couldn’t stop it. At that cue, Becca giggled as well, and even Al and Winry chuckled after getting over their shock.

Becca tried not to look over at Ed. She couldn’t help it if she liked it when he smiled with all his teeth across the room at her. And she definitely couldn’t help it if her cheeks went pink when he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you and your loved ones are all staying healthy and safe, and i'll see y'all in the next chapter! -c


	17. altschmerz

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello, my dears!
> 
> first things first, i'm not 100% sure what's gonna happen but i'm planning on going back and renaming most if not all of the chapters so if it keeps saying the story updated that is just going to be me being annoying i'm so sorry lol.
> 
> anywayyyyy...
> 
> boy howdy chapter 18 is giving me a rough time. i was aiming for getting all of rush valley into one chapter and then... that's not happening. so there's going to be at least 2! possibly 2.5! i like to think that's a good thing!
> 
> college letters are annoying and i have to start up with scholarship essays so moral of the story do not grow up and become an adult! i'm super sleep deprived but i had to get this out to y'all because i love you!!!
> 
> altschmerz (noun)- weariness with the same old issues that you’ve always had—the same boring flaws and anxieties you’ve been gnawing on for years

Inevitably, while Sophie wasn’t the nurse who sutured Ed’s injury from surgery, she did wind up making a specific stop in their room for the sole purpose of scolding Ed, then threatened to forbid him from leaving until fully healed (which could be up to eight full weeks) if he wasn’t more careful.

“You can’t make me stay!” Ed whined.

“You sure you wanna test that?”

Becca held her hand up as she passed, and Sophie surprised her by actually obliging and tapping their palms together in a casual high-five. Ed stammered angrily and was only abated when Armstrong arrived, summoned to the hospital by Hughes, equipped with a pad of paper and a few sheafs of their notes from before they’d broken into the lab. Then he was quick to get down to business, and when Hughes prompted them for the story, he took the lead with Al and Becca interjecting when needed.

“I didn’t see anything too weird until I got to this big room in the middle of the building and I got attacked-”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Becca interrupted. “You didn’t deem the vats of that red crap weird enough to stop?”

“What?”

Hughes frowned. “Red stuff? Was it blood?”

“No, it was way too thin to be blood, but one room had gallons of it. It kind of glowed, but I didn’t have time to poke around to see what it was.”

“Could it have been red water?” Armstrong suggested. “It’s an alchemical amplifier that the government has been working on since the Ishvalan conflict.”

Ed scowled, bunching his fists in his lap. “Are you sure that it’s an amplifier on its own? It sounds like something that could be a sort of precursor to the Philosopher’s Stone.”

They all fell into silence at the reminder of the Stone. Armstrong spoke first. “I’ll look into its creation as much as I can without looking suspicious.”

“Go on, Ed,” Hughes encouraged.

“So the ones who Becca and I fought called themselves 48, but it turned out they were the Slicer Brothers,” he said. “A pair of serial killers from thirty years ago, if you guys know anything about them.”

“48?” Al asked suddenly. “The guy who attacked me said he was Barry the Chopper and his number was 66!”

Becca, who’d already been cleared to get back into her own clothes over lunch, paused in patting down her pockets. Her hand flew to her side, she pulled the triad of journals out, and flicked through the first few pages of the one labelled ‘48b’. They were about the size of Ed’s travelogue, bright red but distinctly dirty, as if they had been left on the floor before someone had put them on the shelf in Dr. Harkins’ personal library.

“Oh? What do you have there, Rebecca?”

Instinctively, she snapped the book shut and looked up at Major Armstrong. “There was this- er- lab I wandered into while I was looking for Ed. Franklin Harkins, I think. I found these. I forgot I had them, but they might be from those guys since the labels match their numbers,” she explained hurriedly, holding up the journals, then she dug through her pockets for the crumpled up sheets from Harkins’ personal notes. “And I took these too.”

“Interesting…” Armstrong murmured as he smoothed the ripped pages out on the table they’d taken over.

Ed reached over the gap between their beds, seemingly interested. “Let me see one of those.”

“Me too,” Al said.

Becca nodded, handing Ed the 48a journal and Al the 66 one, keeping 48b to look through herself. She skimmed most of the entries, a lot of them only being a line or two long, but if it looked important, she read it thoroughly in case there was anything that could be useful.

_ 14-03-84 _

_ Subjects 48a and b consented to the procedure. Training plans will be in development after a physical exam is performed (see checklist below). _

  * _Physical exam_


  * Initial testing in


  * Martial arts


  * Weapons ability


  * Mental stability


  * Physical stability


  * Fixing


  * Finals tests



_ 10-04-84 _

_ Subject 48b has excelled in his training. Hoping to speed up process while still aiming for the first success. _

_ 06-05-84 _

_ All training completed in record time. Collaboration between subjects has increased willingness to participate. Note for subjects later. _

_ Procedure begins tomorrow. 48b will be taken second. _

_ 07-05-84 _

_ Procedure was a success. 48b displayed agitation and showed hesitation (i.e. crying, described wanting to “back out”) after overhearing the procedure being performed on 48a but was easily sedated. Sedation was sufficient in calming the subject for procedure to be performed, not to eliminate any pain the subject may have felt. However, no negative consequences have been noted. Neither 48a nor b seem to remember the actual details during the procedure. Perhaps some sort of pain-induced trauma response. Consider upping sedation doses in other subjects. _

“48 was the first successful transmutation they performed?” Ed said, horrified.

“And this one says 66 was only the second…” Al whispered.

After flipping back through one more time, Becca handed the book off to Major Armstrong, who laid it on the table. Against her will, her heart clenched a little bit for the younger brother, who’d tried to go back in the minutes before the experiment and seemingly was ignored. He was a murderer, of course, but the pain he must have felt was unimaginable, and no one deserved to suffer it.

She let her eyes wander over to Al, someone who, beyond every other person in Amestris, especially didn’t deserve to suffer his fate, who had touched a hand to his chestplate, right over where his heart would be. “They felt pain but didn’t remember it… I can’t remember it hurting either… I don’t really remember any of it.” 

Becca and Ed shared a glance, the burning of their bodies unravelling just to return swamping over them. “That’s probably for the best, Al,” Becca said gently. The pain  _ he _ had felt, his body and soul being pulled apart, must have been much, much worse. It already wasn’t fair he’d felt it in the first place, but remembering it as the last thing he felt before losing the ability to feel would be even more unfair. “It sucks that these notes are so vague. I don’t think there’s anything helpful.”

“Right,” Ed said. He placed his journal on top of hers. Al nodded slowly, then followed suit.

“What happened after you got attacked?” Hughes pushed.

“Well, we worked together to finish off the first brother. I used a move I remembered Scar using on Al and took down the second one,” Ed continued the story, making a few crude drawings as he spoke, “and the older one said, since we’d beaten them both, he’d tell us everything he knew about the people making the Stones.” He ripped out a page with the transmutation circle he could remember from the floor of the lab and set it aside so he could scribble some more. “Then these two people came in. There was an ouroboros tattooed somewhere on each of their bodies-”

Hughes held up a hand to stop him, shaking his head. “Hang on. A what tattooed on them?”

“An ouroboros,” Al said, taking the pad of paper and pen in order to sketch a simplistic version of the symbol out himself. “It’s a dragon eating its own tail. In alchemy, it’s used to symbolize renewal and rebirth, infinity, the natural life cycle- anything in life that’s cyclical pretty much falls under that umbrella. You find it in a lot of transmutation circles as kind of a binding agent.”

“And the fact that it’s even involved indicates that alchemy is even more significant than we thought,” Becca added, “given that the laboratories themselves created a pentagram over the city and how multiple highly intelligent alchemists are probably the ones creating Stones.”

Ed snapped his fingers. “Becca, do you remember how that woman killed 48?”

“The weird spears? How could I forget? They almost went through my head.”

“Right,” Ed said, rubbing the back of his neck with a half-smile, half-wince. “Sorry. But she was controlling those somehow, like they were a part of her. And whenever they shortened, I swear I saw transmutation energy, but it was red, like-”

“Like the priest in Liore,” Al provided.

“And even going back a few years, that’s what happened when Isaac MacDougal used his Stone.”

“You think this woman had a Philosopher’s Stone that allowed her to manipulate her body?” Armstrong clarified.

“I don’t see why not.” Ed shrugged. “It didn’t look easy for him, but Father Cornello changed his form with a fake one, so it stands to reason that a real one could make the transition smoother.”  
“And the other individual?”

“They didn’t do anything too remarkable,” Ed said, gazing off into space as he tried to remember. “They did most of the beating.”

Becca popped in, “The woman called them Envy.” Al offered her the paper and she started rough doodles of the people they’d seen. “This was them,” she said, holding them up. “She seemed to be in charge, even though she didn’t actually do much to us personally.” A small frown drifted over her face as she placed the picture down. “They called us sacrifices.”

“And I don’t remember anything after Envy kicked me and said they were allowing us to live,” Ed finished. “Do you, Becca?”

“I thought I heard the other one deciding to blow the place up, but I can’t be sure,” Becca said. “She was quiet and I wasn’t doing too hot either.”

“Souls guarding a military laboratory, sacrifices, an unidentified person named Envy with an ouroboros tattoo…” Armstrong said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. “It’s probably beneficial we at least know what the transmutation circle for a Philosopher’s Stone looks like so we can be on the lookout, but there are many mysteries concerning this entire operation that still remain. And whether or not that woman gave the order, the Fifth Lab was destroyed. I doubt there’s any information we can glean from there.”

Hughes picked up the list of convicts supposedly put to death, eyes tracing down the scores of names. “Not much we can do about the lab, but I’ll run these by people around my office and see if that turns up anything. I’ll keep an eye out for any mention of ouroboros in reports as well.”

“Let me take this one,” Armstrong said, taking the one with all of Dr. Marcoh’s former colleagues, assistants, or partners from Ishval and beyond, “and I’ll find what I can on these researchers’ current activities and locations. They could be some of the ones currently in charge of the Stone.”

Ed smiled tiredly. “Thank you both for all the help.”

Al nodded. “Yeah, you’ve already done so much-” he began, only to be cut off by the door creaking open behind him. As one would expect in a room full of military personnel, all their heads immediately snapped to the person entering the room, and as one might not expect, all their jaws dropped.

“Fuhrer Bradley!” Armstrong and Hughes greeted at once, saluting in unison. 

Al went stiff, not saluting since he didn’t have to but arms practically stuck to his side, Ed had frozen on his bed, eyes wide, and Becca blinked a few times to make sure this wasn’t some fever dream before slowly raising her right arm in acknowledgement as well. “Sir.”

The Fuhrer waved them off. “At ease, men.” He smiled down at Becca and amended, “And lady.” Becca shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. Even smiling, his visible eye was stern, and to be singled out by him like she had been on the steps of Central Command months ago was not an experience she’d like to repeat. He lowered his hand and closed the door behind him. “No need to be so formal. I’m only visiting.”

“Of course, sir,” Hughes said, though he still bowed respectfully. “But if you don’t mind me asking, what might the occasion be for this… visit?”

“What’s the occasion?” Bradley repeated, coming to address Ed and Becca directly, in front of Ed’s bed and right next to their table of research. “Why, our two youngest, of course. I’ve brought a get-well-soon present!” Smiling like an excited child, he held up a basket, its contents obscured by a frilly handkerchief. “Do you two like melons?”

“Sure, I guess, thanks,” Ed said in awe, accepting the offered gift. Becca elbowed him. “Gah! I mean, thank you, sir!” He passed the basket to Becca, who set it on the table before she thought otherwise, inadvertently bringing the Fuhrer’s attention straight to what they’d been up to.

“What’s all this?” he said, bending over to examine their various diagrams and lists. They all went still until he asked, “Is this why you’ve been looking into the senior staff, Major Armstrong?”

Armstrong recoiled, his massive form somehow shrinking in on itself a miniscule amount. “Well- yes, sir, but how did you-”

“You ought to know by now that nothing gets past me.” Bradley’s eye slid from the papers he was examining back to fully focus on Becca and Ed, occasionally flickering to Al behind them. He was entirely too cold for Becca’s comfort as he spoke to them. “As for you three… you need to tell me everything you’ve learned about the Philosopher’s Stone.” If it was possible, his tone got even chillier. “And I hope for your sakes that it’s not too much.”

Becca’s muscles tensed and she resisted the urge to look at one of the brothers. That would give them away. However, she could see them both in her periphery, and if one of them moved, the other two would be with them in a heartbeat. A few seconds of rigid silence passed and then, for some reason, Bradley started to laugh, beginning with a small chortle that quickly bloomed into a full bodied, boisterous guffaw.

“I’m only kidding!” he said cheerfully. “No need to be so uptight, kids. Lighten up.”

Becca bit her tongue to keep from retaliating with  _ Right, sorry. I don’t know why I would possibly be uptight around you. Could it be that you’re the leader of my country or that you hold my life entirely in your hands? _

The Fuhrer, ignorant of her sarcastic internal struggle, only continued, “I know there’s been some disturbing activities going on under my nose. I’m afraid I haven’t been able to investigate, but I’m glad someone has, because I believe something needs to be done.” He tapped on the list in Armstrong’s hands, which had gone lax enough that he could clearly see the names written on them. “I’ll save you the time of researching. It’s anyone who had knowledge about the Philosopher’s Stone? All these people have gone missing within the last few months.” Bradley flipped through the rest of their notes, scanning them quicker than should be possible. “The enemy, whoever they are, is always one step ahead of us. I’ve had my informants looking into any potential leads for months, but they haven’t found any indicators of motive, numbers, or the level of military they’ve infiltrated and corrupted.”

“Great. This is even more dangerous than we thought,” Hughes remarked cynically.

“Indeed,” Bradley said. “Major Armstrong. Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. Elric brothers. Rebecca Harper. I haven’t been able to trust my own staff for months since I found out about the traitors within our midst. But you have proven yourselves to be trustworthy soldiers, and this order is for your own safety- forget any of this happened. Do not speak of it in any manner to anyone. It is imperative that no one else know about this as we don’t know who may be an ally and who may be an enemy. Suspicion is the only weapon we have against these agitators at the moment. Do not trust anyone and behave as if everyone in the military is a spy for the enemy.” He levelled his stern gaze on all of them in turn, waiting for them to nod. “Good. In return for my trust, I expect you to be ready to join me in the effort of crushing the enemy when I deem the time right.”

Hughes and Armstrong saluted again. “Sir!”

Behind Bradley’s back, Becca, Ed, and Al exchanged worried glances. She didn’t know about the boys (though she could make a good guess), but for Becca, their leader’s inflammatory speech had only served to make her want to dig deeper. 

In their hurry to check in with each other, neither Becca nor Ed had saluted as was expected of them. As luck would have it, before he turned around, two younger sounding men passed the door, fretting about the Fuhrer’s whereabouts.

“Damn those bodyguards,” Bradley muttered to himself, flashing a quick salute to the major and the lieutenant colonel. Without a care in the world, he popped open the window on the other side of the bed and lifted himself out of it. “I snuck away to get a moment of privacy, you understand,” he provided, like that explained climbing out the window instead of using the door like every other visitor they’d had. He waved happily over his shoulder and hopped down to the ground below. The five of them raced to the window, only to see Bradley bidding them adieu. “Well, gotta go! Rest up, alchemists!”

Gazes stuck to his retreating back, it wasn’t until Ed whispered, “What the hell just happened?” that they were able to break out of the odd mindset the Fuhrer put them in.

Well, mostly break out of it, given that Becca still jumped a foot in the air when Winry returned from the train station and called, “Hey, Ed-” The blonde stopped in the doorway, making a face. “What is with everyone today? The guys outside were totally out of it too. Did something happen?”

“No, nothing happened,” Ed said, dropping back down onto his bed. “Just a tornado passing through.”

Winry rolled her eyes. “You guys are so weird. Anyway.” She held up a white envelope. “I got those train tickets you wanted. You said the earlier, the better, so I went ahead and got them for this evening.”

That made Ed perk up immediately. “Great, thanks!”

“You’re already on the move again? I didn’t think you were cleared yet,” Armstrong said.

Ed rolled his eyes. “I’m not. But I’m sick of this place, and at this rate I’ll probably rip my stitches from sheer boredom and give that nurse-”

“Sophie,” Becca informed.

“- _ Sophie _ a chance to follow through on her word to keep me here for even longer.” He kicked at the ground petulantly. “I’m also already sick of hospital food and the smell of antiseptic.”

Hughes crossed to Winry, laying a hand on her shoulder as he leaned over her to see the tickets. She pulled one out of the envelope to oblige him. “Dublith, huh? What’s there?”

“Well, Al and I have been talking about it for a while.” Ed reached over, patting Al on the arm. “We’re pretty tired of getting our asses kicked, so we decided we’re going to go see Teacher.” He looked over to Becca, saying, “I asked Winry to grab you a ticket, but I wasn’t sure you’d want to come.”

Automatically, Becca’s mind went to where it had gone before they’d gone to Resembool- he was giving her an out because he didn’t want her to come. However, that time, he’d given her an out because he’d thought she wouldn’t want to come. And since he knew her experience with teachers, maybe this was a similar situation. Maybe he was just trying to make her comfortable.

“Nah,” she found herself saying. “If your teacher’ll have me, I’d love to meet her..”

“Are you sure? You could stay here and recover some more if you wanted. We’d be back in a couple days, a week at most.”

“Or you could stay with us,” Hughes offered. “You and Elicia got along so well last time you visited, I’m sure she’d love to see you again.”

Becca sat down on Ed’s bed, practically able to see the second option of staying behind dangling temptingly in front of her. Inevitably, though, her heart won out and she pushed him playfully to scoot over. “You’re not the only ones who could stand to learn something new.”

Ed’s mouth twitched, suppressing something, but it was only a few seconds before he beamed at her. She could have imagined it, but she swore she saw some of the tension that had risen when Fuhrer Bradley threatened them lessen when she agreed to come.

“Great. With that settled-” He looked up at Al, Becca following his line of sight, only to see his suit of armor trembling. His smile turned a little strained. “W-what’s wrong, Al?”

Al whimpered. “What do you mean what’s wrong? Teacher’s gonna kill us when she finds out what we did!”

“Listen, don’t you wimp out on me, Al, I’m scared too!” Ed said tightly.

Becca sighed, then traded looks with Winry. “They always do this,” she said, defeated.

“Exactly what kind of teacher did they have?”

“Could not tell you. This is usually as far as they get whenever they bring her up.”

While the boys continued to moan in the background, Armstron’s deep timbre joined the conversation between Becca and Winry. “Quite a long journey to Dublith, isn’t it?”

“How far will you guys be going?” Winry asked. 

Becca caught sight of a map underneath all their research materials and cleared off the table to reference it. “Let’s check it out.” She scanned the map, tracing railroad after railroad until she was able to point to a small spot only just north of South City. “It’s down there. Looks like it’ll be… maybe a day, day and a half on the train?”

Winry hummed reflectively, her eyes following the line as well, until she gasped loudly enough to get Ed and Al’s attention.

“What’s wrong?!”

“Are you okay?”

“Look at that! Before Dublith, do you see that?”

Ed leaned closer to examine where Winry was pointing. “Rush… Valley?” he read out. “What’s that?”

“Are you kidding?” Winry said incredulously. “It’s only the holy land of automail! It’s any engineer’s dream to study there!” She bounced on the balls of her feet, eyes sparkling. “I have to go, you have to take me, please, please, please!”

Once it was clear, however, that Winry’s outburst was from excitement rather than fear, Ed had backed off, crossed his arms, and set his jaw. “No way. If you wanna go that bad, you can go by yourself.”

Winry narrowed her eyes. “Oh, yeah? Who’s going to pay my train fare?”

“Are you seriously trying to mooch off me right now?”

Becca set a hand on his arm, smiling reassuringly at Winry. “Come on, Ed. An extra stop won’t hurt.”

“Yeah, Brother, we’re going through there anyway,” Al joined in.

Ed gave an exaggerated eye roll and a long sigh, but agreed, making sure to note that it was only because Al had expressed that he was okay with it, not that that did anything to curb Winry’s enthusiasm. “I’ve gotta go call Granny and let her know I’m changing my plans!” she chirped, bounding out of the room. Becca giggled at seeing Winry and Ed acting like actual teenagers for once.

“Well, I’ve got to get back to work,” Hughes said once she’d left, bending down to re-sort the papers Bradley had pushed out of place. “We really are pretty busy, even with Sheska’s help. Do you want me to keep these until you get back so you don’t risk losing them?”

“No, no, we can take them. We’ll encode everything while we’re on the train,” Ed dismissed.

At that, Becca started picking the notes up and handing them to Ed, who folded them and packed them into the pages of his travelogue, going over a mental checklist as she did so. When she ran into a discrepancy, she frowned, going through the list again, then ruffling through the remaining things on the table and leaning over the bed to check underneath it.

“What are you looking for, Becca?” Al questioned

“The notebooks, from the lab. They’re gone!”

Armstrong grunted. “Where could they have gone? Were they knocked under the bed?”

“No, they’re just… gone.” Becca’s fingers danced over the table, tapping away, annoyed. “Bradley must have taken them.”

“Peculiar,” the major muttered to himself.

Hughes shrugged, running a hand through his hair. “Well, at least you said they probably wouldn’t be helpful anyway.”

Becca but her lip. “I- I guess. I just don’t know why he would have taken them.”

Before they could discuss the matter any further though, a knock rang through the room, Ross called from the hallway, “More visitors!”, and Hughes’ head snapped back towards the papers scattered across the table.

“Put those away, quickly,” Hughes whispered. Becca followed the hurried instructions at once, sweeping the remaining research onto the bed and moving a pillow to innocently lay on top of them, and just in the nick of time since Ross opened the door and a little girl squealed as she ran to embrace Hughes by the legs.

“Daddy! We found sissy outside, look!”

“Elicia, my princess!” the lieutenant colonel exclaimed, any trace of hesitance gone in an instant, and bent to swing her up onto his hip. “What are you doing here?”

“Mommy and I wanted to come visit you!”

Indeed, Gracia, holding a flat box, and Winry had come in after Elicia, though they’d been stopped at the door so Armstrong could exchange pleasantries with Gracia and make sure Pinako had approved of Winry joining them for the time being before heading outside to speak with Ross and Brosh. Once they’d made it over to them, Hughes pressed a kiss to his wife’s cheek over Elicia’s head. “Were you really coming to visit me?” he said adoringly.

“We went to the office first, but they said you were here, so we figured we could take a little walk and visit a few other friends.” She tapped Elicia’s shoulder and asked, “Right, Elicia? Do you remember them too?”

Elicia stuck a finger in her mouth, surveying Ed, Al, and Becca. Her eyes widened. “Becca!” she exclaimed, then pointed across the room in recognition, first at Al, then at Ed. “Big brother! And little brother!”

Becca could have sworn she heard metal crunch as Ed clenched his fists and ground his teeth while the other three teenagers bit back giggles. “Elicia,” he ground out. “Don’t you remember what we said last time? _I’m_ the big brother and _Alphonse_ is my little brother.”  
“Mmm… I don’t think so,” the little girl decided.

Steam was practically spilling out of Ed’s ears by how frustrated he was with her, so before he could do anything rash, Becca put a hand on his leg and reminded, “She’s still little, she’ll learn.” She rubbed a small circle into his shin with her thumb. “At this point, we’re lucky she still recognizes us at all.”

That seemed to be enough, since Ed’s shoulders notably dropped and he let out a long breath. No one else, Becca realized, hadn’t noticed him, with Al having crossed the room to allow Elicia to play with his fingers, bending them and flexing them into different formations to entertain her, Hughes much too preoccupied squeeing over Elicia’s general cuteness and taking Winry along for the ride, and Gracia attempting to calm her husband down. Becca checked her watch, then the tickets, then coughed politely. Once. Twice. And then-

“Hey!” Ed said loudly. “Don’t we have a train to catch?”

“Ah, right,” Hughes said, rubbing the back of his neck with a guilty smile. He offered the arm not full of toddler to Gracia. “You go ahead and get dressed, Ed. I’ll go ahead and get your discharge papers sorted and we’ll meet you outside.”

“You need help with your stitches?” Becca, the last one left in the room, asked after she’d tugged her boots on and gone to the door.

“No, I’m okay,” he assured her, though his hand did float unconsciously down to his side, resting on the healing incision. “You should go with Hughes, make sure all my information’s right on the papers. I don’t want to get called back here on some technicality.”

She hesitated, door open, but knew she couldn’t make him accept help if he didn’t want to. “Alright. But don’t make me go get Sophie and get us stuck here forever when we’re this close.”

A sharp bark of his laughter was the last thing she heard as she let the door fall shut behind her and she couldn’t stop a fond smile which probably looked extremely stupid and heartsick from twitching up her lips. She’d rarely been so thankful for an empty hallway.

\---

In the end, Gracia, Elicia, Ross, Brosh, and Armstrong ended up seeing them off. Hughes had kissed his wife and daughter goodbye at the hospital, but said he really did have to get back to the investigations office and waved them off to the train station. In the insistent swirl of luggage and tickets, Gracia pulled Winry aside and pressed the box she’d been holding into her hands and allowed Elicia to fling her arms around Winry’s legs in a tearful goodbye before there was a long whistle and she had to be pried off so Winry could join them in their chosen seats. Elicia, however, wasn’t the only one crying, since the major also had proud tears running down his face as he saluted from behind Ross and Brosh. They all waved until the platform had faded from view, and it was only then that Ed settled down and peeked over Becca’s lap to where Winry was clutching Gracia’s box.

“What’s in the box?”

She opened the top, letting a tantalizing smell waft out and fill their little space. “Oh- it’s an apple pie, Ms. Gracia and I made it last night.” She smiled, tilting her head. “She said we should take it with us, and she’s a really good cook.”

“Believe me, I remember. When we stayed with Hughes, she made this amazing quiche...” Ed recalled hungrily. “Hand me a slice, don’t want to let it get cold!” Obligingly, Winry forked over a slice of the pie, cradled in a napkin, and Ed wasted no time digging right in, and declaring it the best pie he’d ever eaten.

“Should I add it to my list of things to eat when I have my body back?” Al asked.

“Definitely! She gave me the recipe, so I’ll be sure to make it as soon as you do, alright?” Winry said.

“Aw, yeah!”

“You should have a piece while it’s fresh out of the oven, Winry. You too, Becca,” Ed insisted, mouth full. “We could even have another piece and count it as lunch!”

“Quit showing me what it looks like chewed up and I just might,” Winry snarked back. Ed stuck his tongue out at her, covered in pie crumbs, and it didn’t take long for both their tempers to flare.

Becca gave a long suffering sigh, plopping the box on her lap, both for easy access and so it would be safer should Winry pull out her wrench. “This is why I had to take the middle seat, huh?” She sliced another two pieces, handing one off to Winry on her left and one to Ed on her right, which at least got the two of them to stop glaring at each other, then picked up one for herself. “By the way, how was last night, Winry?”

The other girl made a point to swallow and Ed rolled his eyes, but she replied, “It was so much fun. Mr. and Mrs. Hughes were really nice to me, and Elicia’s adorable. They’re all great people.”

“Gracia’s great, but Hughes is obnoxious,” Ed argued. 

“He did come to visit you two a lot, though,” Al said pointedly.

“You bet he did, every damn day.”

Giggling, Becca added, “Yeah, he even came to check in on us at the library before he had Sheska to push all his work onto.”

Ed leaned his head against the window, begrudgingly agreeing, “That was pretty nice of him… if a little irresponsible.”

The other three teenagers stared over at him, bewildered, before bursting out laughing.

“Oh, please!”

“That’s rich!”

“You are the last person I want to hear from about being irresponsible with their military work, Ed,” Becca said. “How many times have you turned in a report on time?”

Ed, who’d realized his misstep the second they’d all comprehended it, set his jaw and tried to glare them into submission. When that didn’t work, he brushed off Becca’s question with an indignant, “That’s different!”

His distressed response only sent Al, Winry, and Becca into another round of laughter, which eventually calmed into little giggles, then into silence, though it felt like one of the silences that could reignite into sniggering at the slightest joke.

“We should remember to thank him for everything he’s done next time we’re in Central,” Al said quietly.

“Yeah… we really should, shouldn’t we?”

\---

Conversation continued for hours as the train rushed southwards- about people the Elrics had known but hadn’t gotten the chance to check up on in Resembool, about foods and experiences Al was looking forward to having when he was able to, and Winry was able to pry some information out of Ed, Al, and Becca about what they’d been doing (vague, rather unimportant details that basically amounted to “a lot of research and exploration”), which Becca imagined was rather like pulling teeth for her.

“So why are you two all in a rush to see your teacher right now anyway?”

Though Becca’s mood had been flying high, actually being in the company of other teenagers and acting like it for once could do that to a girl, it quickly dropped when she remembered why they were actually going down south. She shook her head as unnoticeably as she could to clear the anxiety bubbling up, but apparently not unnoticeably enough, since Ed slung his flesh arm around her shoulders, a casual enough gesture if it weren’t for the small, rhythmic circles he made with his thumb on her upper arm.

“Well, first of all, I’m pretty tired of getting my ass kicked in fights-”

“Wait a second, this person is a combat teacher?” Winry cut him off indignantly. “I thought you just studied alchemy with her!”

“Teacher’s philosophy, and a lot of others as well, is that alchemy is easier when you’re physically healthy and strong,” Al explained. “And, uh... Teacher’s personality just happens to lend itself well to combat.”

“Seems to me that a simpler solution would just be to quit fighting all the time,” Winry mumbled under her breath.

Ed scoffed. “Yeah, as nice as that would be, we don’t exactly have that option. Plus, it’s not just our fighting that needs work. We’re also using the opportunity to strengthen our cores, right, Al?”  
“Exactly.”

“What about you, Becca? Not that I’m not glad you came with us, but if I were you, I would have been at least a little tempted by a few nights at the Hughes’ house instead of dragging yourself around a bunch of automail engineers and then watching those two spar ‘for their core’,” Winry said sarcastically, nudging Becca, who forced herself to smile in return.

“Oh, you know,” she said as lightly as she could manage. “Curiosity. I never got a chance to explore the inner discipline that comes with real training. It should be an interesting perspective to study. Maybe their teacher will have a way to help me become stronger on the inside too.”

“We need all the strength we can get,” Ed concluded. “Hopefully, Teacher will still be willing to help us out.”

Winry hesitated, then pushed, “And what’s the second reason?”

“To ask her what she knows about the Philosopher’s Stone,” he said solemnly, resting his chin on a closed fist on his armrest.

Before Winry could ask, Al made sure to clarify, “Dr. Marcoh, the doctor we met who sent us to Central in the first place, told us to find the truth within the truth. We haven’t found it yet, but, if we’re lucky, our teacher might know something about it and be able to point us in the right direction.”

Ed gritted his teeth, letting a short breath out his nose. “She’ll help if we actually get a chance to ask her. That’ll be the hard part, especially with us both looking how we do now…” His shoulders sagged dramatically and he slumped, head dropping sideways onto Becca’s and letting out a distressed wail. “We’re going to be in so much trouble!”

On the other bench, Al wasn’t much better, fretting, “She’s definitely going to kill us when she finds out what happened!”

“Maybe you two should get a new teacher,” Winry suggested dubiously.

Becca didn’t say anything. Her shoulders had tensed instinctively, and her heart had started to beat a little faster than she was totally comfortable with. If she was honest, Winry had made a good point, a better one than she knew, actually, and, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, the cold claws of regret had clenched around her heart. In hindsight, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes’ offer looked more and more appealing with every mile she was taken further away from it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you and your loved ones are all staying healthy and safe, and i'll see y'all in the next chapter! -c


	18. meraki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy thursday, my dears!
> 
> i gotta say, the opening scene of this chapter was one of my favorites i've written so far, and, as you might have noticed, i went ahead and changed all the chapter titles since the beginning lol! that is a result my newest interest in funky words, so if you're interested, feel free to click back through those bad boys and learn something new!
> 
> (seriously though, i did create a pinterest board that i'm going to link in the end note that has all the names in fun little aesthetic pictures where they're all compiled.) (and the title for the next update will be sprinkled in somewhere if you want a hint!)
> 
> in other news, i got a review a few days ago that absolutely warmed my heart and i keep going back to it and just rereading it and rereading it and it kills me every time! i am always so, so, so honored and humbled and every single interaction someone has with any of my work means the absolute world to me. as sappy as it sounds, i am so incredibly grateful to have been blessed with each and every one of you and i just wanted to make sure you all know that!
> 
> meraki (verb)- to do something with soul, creativity, or love; to put something of yourself in your work

Citizens in Rush Valley, Becca discovered, were nothing if not flashy. Everyone seemed to be obsessed with having the most extravagant, strongest, and showy automail they could, and the habit wasn’t limited to just their assorted missing anatomy. They didn’t even make it out of the train station’s shadow before Winry saw a particular model in a window and dragged the rest over to see, herding them next to a jeweler's where a young woman was squealing over a lavish ring.

And then there was Winry, reacting exactly the same way over a metal arm. Which, Becca supposed as she studied the two opposite girls, could very well be more of a status symbol in this city here than the ring was.

“Did that one seriously catch your eye?” Ed muttered mischievously in her ear, jutting his chin out towards the jewelry store where a man in a tuxedo had just agreed to purchase the accessory. His voice was low enough that the two shoppers didn’t hear, but they both turned to look when a sharp snicker escaped Becca’s mouth before she could bite it back.

She shoved Ed away, face going pink. “Can’t say I’m one for the cabochon look,” she said casually. Not a lie. Perhaps it was the scientist in her, but natural stones had always drawn Becca’s eye faster than any shaped or manufactured diamond ever would. The woman shot her a dirty look and she pulled the man inside the store and disappeared. When she was sure she couldn’t be heard, she added, “Or a stone that could probably pay off my whole debt but is so gaudy that it still manages to look fake.” Also not a lie.

“Good to see that there’s some semblance of normalcy even with all the gearheads. You remember that time we saw Ambassador Moore’s wife at Eastern HQ?” Ed teased.

“Yes! Decked out in those awful amethyst earrings? Remember what she said when I held the door for her?” She put on a haughty voice, mimicking, “‘Oh, thank you, dear. Say, have you noticed my earrings? A personal gift from the Tsarina of Drachma. Remember, even though our countries may not get along, that doesn’t mean the ladies cannot enjoy tea together.’”

Ed positively cackled at that particular memory, throwing his head back and grinning widely. He did totally miss Winry bounding further into the town though, so Becca linked her arm through his and hurried to follow, making him stumble. “Bex!”

“Sorry, but we have to keep pace with Winry, otherwise she’ll leave us behind.” Becca glanced around at the twisted streets and dark alleys all trailing off of the main road. “And I don’t think we want to get lost around here either.”

\---

Thankfully, the town did open up into a central square after a few minutes walking. On the other hand, with the open air came a whole lot more sensations all over the spectrum of “enjoyable”. There was, of course, the expected smells of oil and sweat paired with engineers shouting as they competed for the attention of each potential customer, along with the more pleasant scents from a few street vendors selling food and the less pleasant high pitched squeaking of metal-on-metal emanating from both inside the shops and out in the streets, as there seemed to be multiple loose circles that had sprung up in the centers of which were automail-bearers arm wrestling. Becca and Al only just managed to pull Ed and Winry away from one of the rings with firm reminders that if the burly champion did win, Winry would have to rebuild another arm and Ed would have to endure the subsequent beating for it.

Still, as they walked away, Ed grumbled under his breath, “I could have won with alchemy.”

Becca rolled her eyes. “Even more of a reason not to do it. He probably wouldn’t take well to cheating.” Trying to change the subject, she peered around out of the corner of her eye. “Is this town really made up entirely of automail mechanics? How sustainable is that?”

Winry fell back, eager to explain a little more about Rush Valley once she heard Becca asking. “Actually, even though it’s known most widely as the holy land of automail, Rush Valley is the hub of just about any new technology. Phones, cars, trains, they were all created and are being improved here! The land around here isn’t very good for farming like it is down in Resembool and the big business types from the cities can’t stand the weather, so a lot of their food and other supplies get brought in from other cities and the town is easily able to pay for it because of how much everyone else uses the products they’ve created.”

Becca nodded along with her, following the reasoning easily. She supposed it made sense, and turned to ask Ed what he thought about Rush Valley so far, only to see that he’d shedded his top two layers, his red coat and black jacket, as soon as they got out from under the various awnings and tents and into the middle of the plaza, exposing his muscular arms, and Becca was suddenly very unsure about whether her face was heating up due to the aforementioned warm weather or… other factors.

Oblivious, Ed complained, “Yeah, speaking of not being able to stand the weather, remind me why we couldn’t just drop you at the train station and avoid all this heat?”

Al glanced around warily. “Brother, are you sure you want to take those off-”

“Hey, kid!” someone called, jogging up from behind them. “What’s that model you’re wearing? I’ve never seen one like that before!”

Before Ed could react, the man had grabbed his arm, extending each finger to examine it carefully, and gestured another man over. A crowd quickly gathered, all murmuring about the unmistakable unfamiliarity of Ed’s automail.

“Quit it, get off of me!” Ed demanded, trying to tug his arm back. Becca shifted uncomfortably backwards as the group swarmed Ed like wolves converging on their prey, tugging at his clothes, determined to get a closer look even as he attempted to get away. Al grabbed her by the collar of her jacket, setting her beside Winry and then wading back into the crowd to pull them off Ed, who gave an aggravated, “Back off, don’t undo that! Haven’t you jackasses heard of personal space?” right before his tank top and pants were thrown haphazardly into the air. She was able to catch the shirt when another mechanic tossed it backwards, out of his way, but she had lost track of the pants in the scuffle.

Cheeks bright with embarrassment, Becca hid her face in the retrieved shirt, though Winry only chuckled. “They’re just trying to get a closer look, Ed, be nice!” she called.

“I’ll give ‘em a closer look!” he snapped back as Al managed to get to him and lifted him out of the crowd’s reach.

“Alright, he doesn’t know anything about his own arm, “ Al interjected diplomatically. “If you have questions, his engineer is right there and I’m sure she’d be happy to talk to you about them.”

“Hey! Alphonse!”

That was all it took for the mob to clump around Winry and Becca scurried out of the way, bumping into a girl with short, dark hair on her way. “Oh!” the girl exclaimed. “Are you with that boy?”

“I- yeah, but I don’t have automail-”

The girl laughed. “No, no, I just have his pants!” She handed the article over. “Here you go! Tell him to be more careful with his automail around here. People get handsy.”

Becca smiled gratefully. “Thank you. And believe me, I will.” She shoved through the remaining few rows of engineers shouting at Winry and made it back to fresh air with Ed. She tossed the pants to Ed with a short, “Here’s your stuff. Please get dressed. Where’d Al go?” while still keeping hold of the shirt so it didn’t get dusty.

Grumpily, he thumbed over his shoulder to where Al had been surrounded by a few of the braver townspeople once he’d drawn attention to himself, then started pulling his clothes back on. “I hate Rush Valley,” he groused. “I hate the weather. I hate the desert. And I hate automail engineers!”

“Sorry. We’ll only be here for a couple more hours,” Becca said, intently screwing her gaze on the sandy ground as she kept her arm extended for when he could take his shirt. She heard his belt buckle fastening, then a quick rustle of fabric, like Ed was patting his pockets to check that everything was there, then a thick silence that could really mean one thing. Becca sighed heavily. “What’s missing?”

“It’s gone…”

“Ed?”

“...My watch.”

Becca’s head whipped around, not even registering the fact that he still wasn’t wearing a shirt. “You don’t mean-”

“The thing that proves I’m a State Alchemist?” he said weakly. “Yeah. Yeah, I do mean that.”

She could feel the color draining from her face. Sure, they travelled enough that losing things wasn’t uncommon, but their watches were probably the most important thing either of them owned. Not only were they almost irreplaceable, they were also a key part of ensuring their safety while travelling. As Mustang had drilled into their heads, a state alchemist without a watch was basically identity-less, which, while a mild inconvenience for the general public, could be disastrous if they needed help or money, or were put in danger and needed leverage, especially because their trio was so young and more likely to be disbelieved if they didn’t have proof of their rank. “Of course, this one simple stop couldn’t go off without a hitch. That would be too easy, wouldn’t it?”

Al noticed their distress first and picked his way back over to them, worriedly asking what had happened and then freaking out when Ed told him. His panic drew Winry back, who, while not totally understanding the importance, got that the issue was pressing as well and immediately began searching around on the ground in case it fell out of Ed’s pocket by chance.

Two men nearby chuckled, crossing their arms. “Lose something? Probably Paninya’s work.”

“Paninya?” Ed said desperately. “Who’s Paninya?”

“She’s a pickpocket,” the other man supplied. “Mostly targets tourists for things she can sell to thrifters.”

“Do you know how much shit from Mustang I’ll have to put up with if my watch ends up in a second-hand store?” Ed said under his breath where only Al, Winry, and Becca could hear, then raised his voice. “Where can I find her? She took something important and I need to get it back!”

The men exchanged glances, hand creeping for their own pockets. “Well, of course, we can tell you,” one started.

“But in return…”

“We need one more look at that automail!”

Both men held up wrenches and Becca groaned, but tried to be polite. “Unfortunately, we don’t have time to waste, so if you could just-”

A clap echoed from beside her and Ed’s arm flared out into a huge, menacing blade, matched only by the menacing scowl that had overtaken his face. The men went white, pointing towards one of the large mountains near the edge of town. “She stays up there! There’s a shop up there run by a man named Dominic!”

Becca shielded her eyes against the sun, taking in the towering pillars of stone. She sighed. “Alright. Who can fill my water up around here?”

\---

Obviously, it wouldn’t be appropriate to trek into the desert mountain range without an ominous soundtrack of shrieking birds following them the entire damn way. Even though Becca had insisted both Ed and Winry grab a water bottle from town before they left, all of them had finished in just a few miles. 

“Are you sure those guys didn’t just lie to us?” Winry panted. She and Becca had each stripped off their jackets as well, leaving Winry in a white tank top and Becca in her tight sleeved blouse, though she’d pushed the sleeves up to her forearms due to the heat. “‘Cause you might have pissed those engineers off enough that they wanted to trick us.”

“Shut up, ‘s not like you can complain,” Ed shot back. “You’re the one who made us go to that stupid town in the first place. This is all your fault.”

“My fault? You’re the one who lost his freaking pants and got his watch stolen!”

“Oh, really, you think I wanted to-”

Becca, already feeling a headache coming on (one of the normal, heat-related variety), stepped in between the two of them, trying to provide some space for them to breathe. “Guys, placing blame is not helping anybody.”

“But-” they protested in unison. 

She held up her hands, placing on one each of their chests to keep them firmly apart. “If you want to argue about it, at least wait until we get back to civilization.”

The two teens groaned, crossing their arms like petulant children and stalking further down the path they’d been directed onto, but at least not about to strangle one another for the time being. Becca shared an exasperated look with Al, who merely shrugged in response, then froze.

“Um, Brother? Winry?”

“What, Al?” they snapped.

He pointed upwards where a feminine figure stood atop a craggy cliff, silhouetted by the sun. “Could that be her?”

Becca squinted, the shadow seeming oddly familiar, but it was only when the girl moved that she could make out her features and actually recognize her. “I saw that girl in- in town,” she said incredulously. “She helped me pick up your clothes!”

“Who the hell cares? She’s got my watch, I can see it in her pocket!” Ed growled, clapping his hands together. A pillar sprung out of the ground when he touched it and launched him up towards the girl, Paninya, screaming, “Stay right there, you damn thief! Just ‘cause you’re a girl doesn’t mean I’m not gonna beat the crap out of you!”

As anyone would expect, Paninya turned and ran, which only served to infuriate Ed more and he chased after her, leaving the other three behind without a second thought.

Becca groaned, dropping her head in her hands.

“How dramatic…” Al lamented.

“Do you think he realizes some things would get done a lot quicker if he stayed calm?” Winry asked.

\---

Hustling after Ed was made significantly more difficult having to undo all his transmutations along the way, but God only knew what legal ramifications there might be for destroying the natural raw materials and ores around Rush Valley, and they’d already had enough trouble in the automail-driven town for Becca’s taste. Since it would be impractical for Al and Winry to attempt to keep up without any type of automatic alchemy, they’d opted to stay on the path with the reasoning that, if Paninya always ended up at Dominic’s, they’d hit either her or the automail shop eventually. The fact that staying on the path had been miserable enough and actually climbing and trekking through the mountains was already proving to be worse probably didn’t hurt.

She didn’t actually end up catching up to him until he had Paninya cornered against a manmade wall, standing up from a crouch where he’d been pressing his hands against the ground. Becca came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder, making him pause and let out a long breath. “I’d like my watch back,” he said harshly.

Though Ed could be intimidating when he wanted to, Paninya didn’t seemed overly concerned that she was closed in between two government alchemists, since a grin broke out across her face and she crowed, “Wow! That was awesome, how’d you do that?”

“I’m an alchemist! You want another demonstration?” Ed shouted. He lacked his usual gusto- actually, he was uncharacteristically serious. Becca glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, mentally weighing this fight against other low-stakes conflicts they’d been involved in and unable to determine why this one was so important. Surely Ed didn’t care so much about catching some flack from Mustang that he was willing to go through all this trouble as opposed to just filling out some paperwork. 

Either way, he clapped his hands together and the sound echoed through the canyon whilst his hands shot to a cliff face on his side. Stone hands erupted from around them. Despite the fact that the only steady ground was the small spot directly under her and Ed, the pickpocket leaped from column to column with inhuman ease, hopping around and flipping away too quickly to unbalance or let herself get grabbed, all the while continuing to praise Ed’s alchemy and ask question after question until she landed out of their reach. Ed, incensed even further, snapped, “Quit moving around, you bitch!”

“You already getting tired?” Paninya taunted from her perch, skipping out of view with a cheery wave.

“You wish!” 

He gave chase without a second thought. Becca groaned a little to herself, bending down so she could set the environment back to normal, then trudged after him, muttering, “Nice days really are too much to ask for,” as she went. She rounded the ridge, then skidded to a stop, barely able to halt before running to where Ed had stopped a few paces ahead. “Wha-”

He held one finger up to his lips, the other pointing down the cliff, a… suspicious mixture of pride and mirth gleaming in his eyes at the scene below. Once she’d taken it in, Becca couldn’t stop an amused smile of her own.

Al and Winry had intercepted Paninya. That wasn’t the surprising part, it was the whole reason they’d split up in the first place, but Al had trapped the pickpocket in a large birdcage in the center of a transmutation circle, complete with a prim eyelet on top. Winry clapped her hands together and exclaimed, “She fell for it!”

“Good one, Al!” Ed added, hopping down to join them once Al had stepped back from the circle, Becca on his tail. “How’d you know where to put that?”

“It’s not exactly hard to know where you’re going to be, Brother,” Al said. They could all practically see the eye roll implied in his tone, but Ed ignored the slight in favor of approaching Paninya and tapping the bars of the cage.

“Alright, that’s it. You’re done,” he said lowly. “You’ve lost. Now give me back my watch.”

Paninya only smirked, remarking, “Did I lose?” And then there was a rip of fabric and the distinctive sound of metal sliding against metal and Becca couldn’t help but remember 48’s second round of attacks. At least Ed had jumped back this time- shocked, but unharmed. Paninya stepped out of the cage, pant leg ripped and a smile almost as sharp as the blade protruding from her knee on her face, almost like how Ed could transmute his arm without an actual reaction. “You’re really surprised? You guys definitely haven’t spent enough time in town!”

Ed growled. Becca stepped forward, grabbing his shoulder to hold him back. Paninya laughed mockingly. “And that’s not all!” She brought her other knee up, tugging the fabric to expose another metal leg for maybe a millisecond-

“Get down!” Becca shouted. As Ed and Al both obeyed, a small projectile sailed just over their heads and exploded behind them. She cast a look over her shoulder, then back to Paninya, eye wide.

“My other leg has a 1.5 inch cannon!” she said cheerfully, turning over her shoulder and skipping back towards the mountains. 

“You-!”

“Now, it’s really been fun, but I got places to be, short stuff, so how about we call it a-”

Quick as a whip, though, Paninya halted, so suddenly Becca thought Ed must have alchemized a cuff around her ankle or something. Instead, Winry had reached out as the pickpocket passed her, tugging her back sharply via a hand encircling her wrist. She grinned, blue eyes lighting up proudly. “Gotcha! That wasn’t so hard after all.”

“Yes!” Ed pumped his fist, hopping to his feet. He offered Becca a hand and shouted, “Nice, Winry! Now don’t let her go!”

“Like hell I’m letting go!” Winry replied, grinning, before her eyes softened and she moved from gripping Paninya’s wrist to holding her hand reverently. “Not until you give me a closer look at your automail!”

Becca tried (and failed) to stop a short giggle, and Ed’s face fell into yet another scowl. “Damn gearhead!”

A starry eyed Winry either ignored him or was too caught up in fawning over Paninya to listen. For her credit, even Paninya seemed stunned into submission by the sudden turn of events.

Becca squeezed Ed’s hand to calm him down. “Patience. I don’t think we’re prying Winry off of her anytime soon. That means she’s not getting away from us either,” she pointed out.

His jaw clenched until he forced himself to exhale and relaxed. “Fine.”

She unconsciously reached up, brushing a hair that had fallen out of place during the chase back behind his ear, then felt heat rising in her cheeks when he turned to look at her at the prompting. “Sorry,” she said instinctively, fanning herself with her hand. “It’s hot out here- didn’t want you to- anyway-”  _ Stop talking, please, you sound like an idiot. _ She screwed her gaze down to the dirt path and searched desperately for another topic and she landed on, “-I get that all the paperwork and stuff to get a new watch would be a pain in the ass… but are you sure it’s worth all this trouble?”

That was the wrong thing to ask. Ed’s hand dropped from hers and he quite literally closed himself off to her, all crossed arms and curled shoulders. “I just… I don’t want anyone else having my watch,” he said defensively.

“Alright.” Becca knew her cue to back off. “I trust you. Whatever you need, we’ll do our best.”

He gave her a grateful, if tight, smile. “Thanks, Bex.” He unclenched slightly, stretching his arms above his head with a quiet groan before beckoning Al over to join them. “You think Winry’s done interrogating her yet?”

All three gave quick looks over at the other girls. Winry was still occupied, and the situation had actually managed to escalate slightly since she’d sat Paninya down on a rock nearby and was currently knelt near her feet to give her legs a closer examination, firing question after question off as she did.

“I-” a pink-cheeked Paninya was stuttering. “I don’t know all the details, but the man who made them could probably-”

“Could you take me to him?” Winry asked eagerly.

“Um… sure?”

“Hey, hey, hey, not yet,” Ed interjected, grabbing Winry by the shoulder. “We actually have somewhere to be-”

Winry shook his hand off with ease, frowning. “Fine by me!”

“I’m sure you can! Either way, she still has my watch, so just give that back and we’ll be on our way!”

“Ed,” Becca said softly. “Not trying to step on your toes, but maybe we shouldn’t just leave Winry in the middle of nowhere with a stranger.” Her eyes moved to Paninya and she offered, “How about this- you take us to your engineer, introduce Winry to him, and give Ed his watch back, and we forget any of this ever happened.”

She hummed, tapping a finger against her cheek as she considered. “Fair enough.”

“Ed?”

Clenching his fist at his side, Ed exhaled loudly through his nose. “Fair.” He turned abruptly and started stomping up the mountain again. When no one followed him straightaway, he demanded, “Well? Are you going to take us further or not?”

Paninya smiled mischievously (seriously, was that her default?) and charged up in front of him. “Yeah, sure, I will! If you can keep up, that is!” she snarked.

“I’ll show you who can’t keep up-!”

Winry and Al each let out a long sigh and Becca shrugged at both of them, rubbing her temples tiredly. “I think letting them have prolonged contact was a mistake on our part.”

“Agreed.”

\---

“Mr. Dominic lives out here so that way he has first access to the best ores. He’s the best of the best, not only because of that, but he’s also just brilliant!” Paninya explained as they climbed higher and higher up. She hesitated, then added, “And because he doesn’t particularly like company.”

Ed, even more grouchy and holding his jacket over his head for shade, grumbled, “In this town? I can’t imagine why.”

Winry smacked his shoulder. Ed raised a hand to respond in kind, but before he could, they finally reached their destination. Paninya twirled around, carelessly throwing her arms up in the air. “Here we are! Mr. Dominic’s workshop!” She bounded to the door and banged it open, then shouted, “Good afternoon! I’ve brought guests!”

The door slammed shut behind her.

“Oh!” they heard Paninya exclaim through the wood. She pushed the door back open, smiling guiltily- specifically at Winry- and apologetically said, “Oops, sorry. Come on in!”

A bespectacled man was bent over in front of a large pile of scrap metal inside the open interior of the stone house, rubbing his eyes as they crossed the threshold. “Who’s this, Paninya? Customers?” He picked up a pair of glasses from a worktable, slipped them on, and then his jaw dropped upon actually taking them- or maybe specifically Al- in. One of the tamer reactions he could have, Becca supposed.

“Not exactly,” Paninya admitted, shrugging. “This is Winry. She’s an engineer and she wanted to meet Mr. Dominic.” She waved at the rest of them with little fanfare. “Those guys aren’t really important.”

Ed, who’d barely been holding his temper during each interaction with the thief, finally reached the end of his rope. He stomped one foot, shouting, “Alright, that’s it-!”

“Where’s Satera?” Paninya asked, ignoring Ed and wandering further into the house.

“Don’t walk away from me!”

“Hi.” Becca offered her hand to the man. “I’m Becca. The angry one is Ed, and that’s Al. Paninya already introduced Winry. Nice to meet you, Mr. Dominic. You have a lovely home.”

The man obligingly shook her hand, but he rubbed the back of his neck guiltily. “Oh, no, I’m not Dominic- he’s my father. I’m Ridel LeCoulte.”

“Good afternoon, Paninya! Busy day?” a woman’s voice came from another room.

Ridel smiled lovingly, in a familiar, “Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes”-like manner. “And that’s my wife, Satera.” He stood up straighter, wiping a thin sheen of sweat off of his forehead. “Now, was it Winry? Did you really come all the way out here just to meet my old man?”

“Oh, yes!” Winry squeaked, snapping to attention from where she’d been as subtle as she could while still checking out the various automail and gadgets laying around the room. “Paninya showed us her automail, and it’s amazing! I could only dream of creating something like that!” Her eyes sparkled with excitement and she grabbed Ed by the shoulder, pushing his sleeve up to show his arm off despite his sputtered protests. “This one is my latest creation, but I’d be thrilled- no, honored- if an expert other than my granny would give me some pointers!”

Ridel pushed his glasses up his nose, examining the craftsmanship, turning Ed’s arm this way and that. Ed himself rolled his eyes, fixing Becca with a weary stare.

“I can’t say I’m an expert, but you can’t get by around here without knowing at least a little about automail, and this looks impressive,” Ridel noted. “Dad’s in the back, though. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”

Winry squealed, letting go of Ed’s arm and bouncing after Ridel as he beckoned her through a door. Ed, on the other hand, rubbed his shoulder port, glancing out the window uneasily.

Becca placed her hand over his in what she hoped might be a calming gesture. “What’s wrong?”

“Besides the fact that I keep getting yanked around when I just want my watch back?” Ed said stonily. “My ports are aching.”

“It didn’t seem like it was going to rain when we were outside earlier,” Al assured. “Maybe it’s just from all the running you did? Or it could just still be sore from the laboratory.”

“Ed!” Winry sang. “Take off your coat and come in here, Mr. Dominic wants to see your automail!”

He groaned, but handed his coat and jacket off to Becca. “Not one word,” he said, pointing threateningly between her and Al.

“Never mind that,” a gruff man objected. “It’s too tight in here. I’ll set up in the main room.” A tan, gray haired old man appeared in the doorway, holding a bright red toolbox. He snapped his fingers in the direction of a pair of wooden boxes near the fireplace. “Sit,” he ordered sharply. Ed dropped onto one and Dominic onto the other, holding out a hand with a curt, “Arm.”

He examined Ed’s arm with a trained eye and a magnifying glass seemingly produced from thin air. Winry hovered around him as Dominic lifted the arm gingerly and questioned, “Does this feel heavy to you?”

Winry faltered. “Um… maybe?” She copied him, moving it around as lightly as she could. “Yes, I guess it does.”

“Hm,” Dominic grunted. “On your next model, you’ll need to be more careful not to strain the user.” A cursory glance up and down Ed’s body prompted, “Its weight could be a factor in his evidently stunted growth.”

Becca winced, placing a firm hand on Ed’s shoulder before he could react to the jab.

Of course, that didn’t stop him from snapping, “Hey, shut up-!” whilst the rest of the statement processed. “Wait… you’re saying if my automail was lighter, I’d be taller?”

“It wouldn’t be impossible.”

“Brother, don’t get your hopes up, it could just be genetics-”

Ignoring Al, Ed turned on Winry, eyes as wide as saucers. “Winry, talk to this nice man and figure out how to make me taller, please!”

“That settles it,” Winry muttered to herself, clapping her hands together decisively. “Mr. Dominic! I know that I could learn so much from you in the art of automail engineering, so I beg you, please, make me your apprentice!”

“Not a chance.”

“Why not?” the four of them protested as one.

“I don’t do apprentices,” Dominic said, scratching at his beard.

Winry blanched, her body tightening. “Are you sure you don’t want a second to consider?”

“Yeah, yeah, are you sure you can’t make an exception to show her how to make some special automail?” Ed said, fluttering his eyelashes sweetly. Becca rolled her eyes as he specified, “The kind to make me taller…?”

“Get outta my face, you little flea.”

As Ed collapsed to the floor, sputtering dramatically (apparently especially affected by that particular insult), Becca’s mouth twisted unpleasantly. As a general rule, didn’t craftspeople love to pass on their secrets and techniques? Every one she’d ever known, from alchemists to bakers to engineers, had some irrepressible need to teach- or rather, to pass on whatever shiny, new thing they’d managed to create and make sure everyone else knew who’d created it. Here was a ready and willing wide-eyed student, and he was just going to pass? How could he?

Al, on the other hand, gently pried his brother off the floor and slung him over his shoulder. “Thank you for your time, sir. We appreciate it,” he excused, “But if you can’t help us, we really should get going so we can find a hotel in time for-”

He was cut off by a large boom of thunder, shaking the house around them and quaking Becca to her very bones. Ed snapped to attention, then wilted like an overwrought flower. “I told you guys earlier. Rain.”

“How?” Becca said incredulously. “It was totally clear earlier. Not one cloud!”

“Oh, that’s just a desert storm,” the same woman from earlier, Satera LeCoulte, chimed in. She’d crossed the room to the windows after putting a tray of tea things down on a side table, shutting and latching them with ease. “They can roll in out of nowhere, right, dear?”

“Exactly,” Ridel said fondly. He pulled back the curtain just as thick sheets of rain started pouring down outside and flinched. “Ooh, bad timing.” His eyes floated between the four teens sprawled across his living room- Al standing near the door, Ed on the floor, Becca leaned up against the wall, and Winry still crouched near Dominic. “Sorry, guys,” he said apologetically. “It’s probably best for you to stick around here, at least until this all clears up a bit.”

“We won’t be intruding?” Al fretted.

“Not at all!” Satera assured. “The more the merrier!”

She and Ridel smiled lovingly at each other, then turned to the rest of them and Becca couldn’t keep a tiny smile of her own off her face, even as she swore she heard Dominic mumbling quite the opposite under his breath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you and your loved ones are all staying healthy and safe, and i'll see you in the next update! -c
> 
> https://pin.it/4raFrBR


	19. petrichor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy late thursday night, my dears!
> 
> i had to change up the order for a few events in this chapter- well, tbh, not really had to but more i just wanted to, but this is my escape from the world and i get to pick the order of events, you know? other than that, i liked this chapter a lot when i was writing it and i thought it had some sweet moments between a lot of the cast, since i love when an author develops relationships between characters outside of the main ship, so hopefully y'all don't mind that much either.
> 
> and to any of my fellow seniors out there, you have my absolute condolences because holy hell, the combination of senioritis, third quarter slump, the looming presence of colleges, and quarantine brain is quite literally decimating me. to the rest of y'all, send me good vibes. no, i do not know what i'm doing. i'm not planning on it rn, but i might (maybe [hopefully not]) have to take a brief hiatus just because of... existence. either way, i promise i'll keep you guys updated and any hiatus that does happen won't last any longer than it has to.
> 
> petrichor (noun)- a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather

“Alright,” Satera said, clasping her hands together after they’d all gotten settled. Tea had been served, a fire had been stoked, and benches pulled over for her, Becca, Ed, and Al while Winry and Paninya trailed after Dominic and Ridel to the workroom. Satera pushed herself to her feet with a little groan. “We’ll see if the radio’s working to get an estimate of when you all can safely head back to town right after I get all this cleaned up-”

Becca cut her off. “No, I’ll get it. Let me.”

“Nonsense, Becca, you’re my guest-”

“It’s no trouble, not when you’ve already opened your home to us. It’s not equivalent exchange, but it will have to do,” she said lightly. Of course, the repayment was only part of the reason Becca pressed- the other was that Satera was pregnant. Actually, very pregnant. And she didn’t need to be a doctor to know that people who were that pregnant should be resting as much as possible. 

Satera chuckled, easing herself back down into a rocking chair. “Fine, if you insist.”

“I do.”

“Thanks, Becca,” Ed said as he handed off his cup. 

His eyes flicked over to Al, who seemed preoccupied with sneaking curious looks at Satera, or more specifically at her swollen belly, at least until Ed elbowed him to hand off his cup (taken to avoid suspicion, but still conspicuously full) and he yelped out, “Oh! Yeah, thanks, Becca. Do you need help?”

Becca grinned over at his child-like fascination, not wanting to tear him away. “I’m fine, thanks though. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Just set them down on the counter, dear,” Satera requested.

“I will.”

“Don’t you dare wash them, Rebecca, I’m serious!”

“Of course not,” Becca said, nudging the door to the hallway open with her hip. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

And she meant it. Initially. Then she heard Winry and Paninya’s voices through the door, and, after gently knocking and sticking her head in, asked, “Am I interrupting?”

“Nah, come on in,” Paninya said, sitting back in her chair. “I was just telling Winry the story of how I got my automail.” She turned to Winry and teased, “I don’t know why she’s so interested, but honestly, I was just a pathetic little kid before Mr. Dominic found me. I was in an accident that killed my parents when I had just learned to walk, so I was totally by myself. Dirt poor, and pretty much thinking that life couldn’t possibly be worth living.” Paninya laughed self-deprecatingly. “I had the eyes of a dead man…”

Winry leaned forward, enamoured. She was clearly hanging onto every detail, rapt attention uninterrupted as Becca, in a need to keep her hands busy as she listened, filled the small sink with soap and water and dropped the tea things in. However, when Paninya mentioned that Dominic hadn’t allowed her to repay him with stolen wages, Winry scoffed.

“What?” Paninya said indignantly.

“Of course he doesn’t want you to pay him back by picking pockets,” Winry said, rolling her eyes. “That’s, like, the opposite of why he gave you your legs back!”

Becca put down her rag and the teacup she was scrubbing dry. “How do you mean?”

“It’s like how Granny and I created Ed’s limbs so he could keep moving forward,” Winry explained. “From what you said, it doesn’t sound like Mr. Dominic gave you new legs because he wanted money from you. It sounds like he made them because he wanted you to do more with your life.” 

Paninya, with her confident veneer uncrackable up until that point, actually faltered. “I never thought of it that way before.”

Winry leveled her firm blue eyes on her and she gulped as the blonde grabbed onto her knee. “You got those legs because of pure human kindness, a selfless act of goodwill. Mr. Dominic doesn’t want your money, he probably wants you to live up to what he’s already done for you! You should repay him by living life to the fullest, not by stealing from tourists your whole life!”

“Believe me, I understand repaying debts probably better than anyone,” Becca added, leaning up against the counter, “but doing it honestly and in the way Mr. Dominic would most appreciate it is probably the best way to show him that you don’t take his gift for granted. That giving you a second chance was the right choice.”

Paninya hummed, kicking one leg up onto the rickety table and staring thoughtfully at it for a few seconds before slowly answering, “You guys… might be right.” She swung her leg down suddenly, eyes bright. “I think I’ll give the honest work thing a try. I’ll start right now!”

Another clap of thunder boomed and spooked all three of them. Paninya smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. “I’ll start as soon as this rain quits,” she revised, lowering herself back down into her chair. She rubbed her thighs, presumably where metal met flesh, and winced. “It doesn’t get humid very often around here, but when it rains like this, it always makes my ports all achy.”

“Ed’s do that too,” Winry said. “He always takes hot water bottles.”

“I think Satera and Ridel keep some of those in the hall closet, if he wants a few.”

Becca pushed herself fully back up on her feet. “I’ll go ask him. Winry, you could get some water on the stove and gather the bottles. I’ll heat it up with alchemy so we can make enough for both of you pretty quickly. Do you think Satera would want one?”

“Couldn’t hurt to ask,” Winry agreed with a shrug. “Hey, Paninya, do you know where the pots are?”

Becca made her way back to the living room, already preparing her speech of excuses for what had taken so long and extending a peace offering. She pushed the door open quietly, starting off, “I know you told me not to, but Paninya is actually a very intriguing storyteller, and I just got carried away- oh.”

For kneeling on the floor in front of Satera were both Elrics, each with a palm laid on her stomach. She felt her heart skip an unwilling beat at the sweet domesticity.

“Isn’t it cool?” Ed said, looking up at her and beaming. “There’s a tiny human inside her!”

“A little miracle, more like,” Al corrected in awe. “We were both in mom’s tummy like this, a long time ago.”

She smiled fondly. “That is how pregnancy and birth work.”

“I know, but think about how amazing that is! How someone can just create a whole other person!”

“Would you like to feel the baby kicking too, Becca?” Satera asked.

The offer caught Becca off guard, and, before she could stop herself, she’d started to stutter, “Would that be- I mean-” She flushed what she was sure was a bright, bright pink. “Are you sure it’s okay?”

“Of course,” Satera said soothingly, chuckling a bit. “They’ve been very active today.”

“A- alright.”

Ed scooted over, making room for her on the floor next to him. Bending down, Becca set a hand on Satera’s abdomen, touching just lightly enough to register when a little foot hit the skin. “Oh,” she murmured adoringly, getting down fully onto her knees. “Wow…”

Satera let her hand drop on top of Becca’s and sighed out a long breath, only to be interrupted by a sharp wince and gasp of pain. Ed sat up ramrod straight in an instant, checking in, “Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” she assured him. “The baby sometimes kicks in odd places, that’s all.”

“Whoa,” Al whispered.

Becca pulled her hand back, shaking herself out of her reverie. She checked her watch and winced. “Hopefully this storm doesn’t last too much longer,” she said. “We already bought train tickets and if we miss the one going to Dublith tomorrow, we won’t have another chance for a few days.”

“And that reminds me,” Ed said, standing up and brushing his gloved hands off on his pants. He smiled sinisterly. “I need to get my watch back.”

\---

“What the hell is wrong with you, Winry?!”

Satera, Becca, and Al all jolted, Al’s story about a baby back home in Resembool suddenly cut off. Becca shot Satera what she hoped was a soothing smile. “I’m sure that’s nothing.”

“I’m sorry, I was just-”

The loud, hollow bang of wood on wood sounded through the walls and she grimaced. “I’ll go check on them.” She hauled herself up and gave Satera one more reassuring smile. “Go ahead with the baby story, Al, I’m sure this’ll only take a second.”

She barely made it three steps down the hallway before she bumped headlong into a wound up Edward Elric. “Hey,” she cut in, grabbing him on the shoulder to force him to a stop. “Hey, hey, hey. What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Winry-” Ed muttered through gritted teeth, “-pried open my watch.”

“Take a breath, calm down a little,” Becca instructed, casting her gaze around the wide hallway until she noticed a pair of chairs nearby. “Here. Sit.” He begrudgingly dropped into one of the seats, his head falling into his hands. Becca lowered herself down next to him. She reached out hesitantly, then drew back before she actually touched him. This, whatever  _ this _ was, clearly wasn’t something he should deal with alone. Knowing Ed, though, if she spooked him, he’d bolt. That had to be avoided, if not for his comfort then at least for his safety given the weather and location. “Now what’s this about your watch? You said that Winry looked at it, but-”

“I- I sealed it with alchemy, but she still pried it open,” Ed said quietly. “It was private.”

“ _ What _ was private?”

Wordlessly (horribly uncharacteristic, and something that was happening much too often now that Becca thought about it), he thrust his watch under her nose. For a brief moment, she realized that this was the first time she’d ever actually seen the watch open, at least until she registered the scratches opposite the face. 

“What…?” She took it from him, tilting her head to make sense of it. “‘October third, year 11’?”

A pained noise ghosted past the curtain of golden hair obscuring Ed’s face. “When Al and I burned down our house.”

Becca involuntarily snapped her head towards him, speechless but to breathe out, “Oh, Ed…”

“I needed a- a reminder. It gave what we did a tangible form, something that I could carry with me so I never forgot what my pride could lead to.” He chuckled, though the sound was undeniably hollow, as he ran a hand through his bangs and tugged them back to expose his hollow eyes. His fist clenched, gripping tight, too tight, right at the root, and Becca could practically hear his teeth gnashing.

She had no choice.

Becca dropped the watch like it burned her, the silver clattering delicately on the floor in contrast to the roughness with which she grasped both of Ed’s hands, unwinding them from his hair and smoothing down the disturbed tufts before she could stop herself. Slowly, her eyes moved up to meet his, taking in the muted surprise behind them as she squeezed his hands in hers. For a second, Becca thought that might have been enough, because he stayed quiet. Introspective. Then he’d torn his eyes away from hers and pulled both his hands back, though they at least fell into his lap instead of ripping at his hair again. “Al doesn’t even know.”

“Ed, I-”

“It’s stupid-”

“That’s not what I-”

“It’s just for me-”

“Edward,” she interjected firmly. 

“Becca, I know it’s- it’s strange, you don’t have to-”

Slowly, as if she might spook him, she took his chin between her thumb and forefinger and tilted his head up so he had to look at her, then just as hesitantly drew away. “I understand. I do, I promise. Can I show you?”

He nodded his assent haltingly, but nodded all the same, so Becca shrugged off her jacket, draping the rough tan fabric over her lap. Ed furrowed his brow. “I don’t understand.”

Becca swallowed a lump that had somehow formed in her throat as traced the topmost strand of flowers, the ones that stretched across one shoulder to the other. “Look,” she pointed out. “All of them have meaning, but these ones are special. Forget-me-nots, for Louisa.”

“Bex…”

“So I get it,” she said softly. “I get the need to remember… but you can’t take all the blame all the time. It’s not healthy.”

Distress bubbled up again, his jaw clenching. “But it  _ is _ my fault. I deserve all the blame.”

“No, you don’t, Ed,” Becca asserted. “You can take your part of the blame without taking on all this guilt.” Admittedly a bit desperately, she pleaded, “You were just a kid- a kid who missed his mom. That thing- Truth, God, whatever-” She stopped herself, taking a deep breath. She couldn’t think about that right now, not in such a heightened emotional state, not unless she wanted to say something she might regret. “Look- listen. You’ve never been one to blame someone else for your mistakes, and that is something I admire greatly about you. But it’s not fair to you to- to constantly carry all this weight on your shoulders! You do that too long and it’ll just start crushing you beneath its weight.” She avoided his eyes as she whispered, “I can’t watch you do that yourself, Ed. And there are a lot of other people who would say the same thing.”

She intently kept looking forward, holding her breath. Ed didn’t seem to be in the mood to yell at her, but she didn’t know if she could bear any more of this side of Ed. Something about recent events- the false Stone in Liore, Lab 5, the fight with Al- had clearly shaken him, even if the issue had been resolved. Or maybe it had just cracked his carefully kept up shield that had hidden this internal torment, and now the dam kept giving way, drop by drop-

And then he… chuckled.

“I shouldn’t carry it on my shoulders?” he asked, shoving her slightly. “Bold words coming from she who has her reminder quite literally etched above her shoulders.”

Becca blinked. He’d laughed. He was laughing! She looked down at the jacket in her lap, then to her right up at Ed, a small smile cracking over her face. She let out a tiny giggle. “Okay, that’s on me. Bad choice of words. Either way, my point still stands. There are two people who’d agree with me in this house right now.” Leaning over a bit to bump their shoulders together, she suggested, “You should go talk to them sometime.”

Ed shot her a smirk. “I’ll think about it.”

A quietude sank over them, broken only by the insistent pattering of the rain against the roof, and Becca quickly found herself unwillingly going pink, so she let out a breath and stood up, shrugged her jacket back on, and offered Ed her hand to pull him up. Of course, because so few things could ever go Becca’s way, that had to backfire and they wound up nearly nose to nose, their hands still intertwined, arms braced against each other. She swallowed and willed her blush to recede. “Ed-”

All the way down the hall, there was a chorus of gasps. Winry shouted, “Ed! Becca! Come quickly!”

Becca pulled away at once, though Ed didn’t back off and his metal hand actually tightened around her forearm. He looked at her, alarmed, then towards the door and called, “What’s wrong?”

Loud footsteps hurried towards them and Winry, breathing heavily, hair askew, burst in. “It’s S-Satera! The baby!”

\---

Before Winry helped to settle Satera down into her bed as best she could, Becca laid the water bottle she’d reheated with a quick transmutation out so that she could rest it on her back. 

Outside, the storm had only gotten worse, but she could pick out the slam of a door over the claps of thunder moments before Ridel hurried into the bedroom and crouched by his wife’s side. “Dad’s gone to get the doctor,” he said, forcing a soothing tone (though it came out rather desperately) and kissing her temple. “You can hold on a little longer, can’t you?”

“It’ll come when it comes,” Satera growled. “I don’t get much of a choice.”

“Stay calm, he’s going as fast as he can-” Ridel was cut off by Satera whimpering through clenched teeth. He winced, rubbing circles into her arm, and questioned, “What’s wrong?”

Becca leaned closer, wiping sweat off of her brow, and as did everyone else as Satera mumbled something under her breath. It sounded horribly like exactly what all of them did  _ not _ want to hear at this moment in time, so Ridel prompted, “One more time, sweetheart?”

Satera shifted uncomfortably and snapped, “My water just broke!”

“Isn’t that bad?” Ed whispered to Becca. “That sounds bad.”

“It means this baby is coming,” she whispered back, eyes widening, “now. Whether we like it or not.”

He froze, then whipped around to Satera. “A-are you sure? It- it can’t wait?”

“No, it can’t wait, you moron!” Winry scolded, though her eyes were quickly sliding from person to person before she visibly steeled herself, setting her shoulders back with a deep breath. “We’re just going to have to work through it ourselves.”

“What?!”

Winry waved her hands frantically to calm them all down and pointed out, “Well, if we’re lucky, all we’ll have to do is keep her calm for a few hours until the doctor gets here for the actual delivery-”

“Lucky for you all maybe!” Satera groaned.

“We need everyone’s help, but we will handle it together,” Winry said reassuringly, heading for the door, and then shouted orders as she hustled down the hall, “Ridel, stay with your wife! Ed and Al, hot water and a bowl of ice chips, ASAP! Paninya, I assume you know where the towels are, and Becca, try and rustle up some rubbing alcohol and disinfect this area as much as you can!”

“Is this safe?” Paninya asked anxiously. “Has she ever delivered a baby before?”

“Uh, no, not exactly,” Ed admitted, rubbing the back of his neck and pulling a face. “I mean, you can’t exactly grow up in farm country without seeing at least one animal birth. But Winry’s had medical textbooks instead of picture books since she could read because of her parents.”

“Her whole family’s made up of doctors, they have been as far back as anyone can remember,” Al interjected. “It’s in her blood.”

“Blood is not the same thing as a medical degree!”

“Degree or not, we’re going to have to trust her and her memory,” Becca said. “And we need the stuff she asked for if we want this to be at all successful.” Winry hurried back through the door, outfitted in an apron, and their impromptu huddle broke up to gather the supplies. Winry, on the other hand, began muttering a mental checklist to herself, an undeniable panic blooming in her eyes as Becca scrubbed down everything immediately surrounding the bed.

“Hey, Winry!” Al chirped, poking his head back into the room.

Ed followed suit, flashing a thumbs up at her. “You can do it!”

“I can do this,” she repeated, then took a deep breath and prompted, “Becca, Paninya, I’m going to need your help. Let’s do this.”

\---

“I think I’m gonna die!” Satera howled, an unwilling tear dripping down her cheek. “I can’t do this anymore!”

“You’re doing great, sweetheart,” Ridel whispered.

He, Winry, Paninya, and Becca had spent the last few hours trying to keep Satera calm while Winry occasionally checked in on the process of the birth and they all desperately hoped for the doctor to arrive. Becca kept the water hot and the ice chips cold, Paninya kept time of Satera’s contractions in a notebook, and Ridel squeezed her hand, keeping her grounded and murmuring reassuring words, at least until Winry sat up, wide-eyed.

“We’re out of time.”

“W-what do you mean?” Ridel said.

She bit her lip, exchanging hesitant looks with Becca and Paninya. “The baby is ready to come out. We’re going to have to go through with the delivery.”

Ridel and Paninya opened their mouths to protest, but Becca quickly cut in, reassuring, “Whatever you say, Winry, we’ll follow your lead.” She tried for an encouraging smile. “You’ve got this.”

\---

If Becca was honest, the birth itself was a blur. The energy expended from all the transmutations she'd done was catching up to her and fatigue hit hard. She totally zoned out, following instruction after instruction. She knew Winry was coaching Satera through the pushes, but once the blood started flowing enough to warrant her joining Winry to help clean up, that was enough for Becca, thank you very much, and she checked out until the sharp cry of an infant broke through the pounding rain.

Something in her released and she breathed freely for the first time in what felt like hours, stumbling backwards and, inevitably, into a wall, which she promptly slid down and onto the floor. For God's sake, she thought dazedly to herself, it had only been a few hours but Becca couldn't resist the temptation of curling up, resting her head on her knees, and almost falling asleep right then and there. Vaguely, she saw Winny collapse to her knees, exhausted, and Paninya stagger to the door, but her eyes were actually drooping shut as she slipped into a weary daze. She could only assume Ride and Satera were just as worn out, probably more so, as well as taking in this little person they'd just brought into the world. All was quiet but for the baby's cries.

And then Ed and Al hurried over the threshold, bursting with nervous energy from being banished to the hallway. Becca jerked awake, if only barely, to quickly blink away the sleepiness.

"What happened?" Ed said, turning wildly between Winry on the ground to Becca against the wall.

Wordlessly, Winry pointed up to the new parents at the top of the bed.

Both boys froze. Slowly, realization dawned on them as they took in the sweet scene of Ridel and Satera fitted together like puzzle pieces around the baby. "It's- it's a baby!" he breathed as an amazed, open-mouthed grin bloomed over his face. "A real life baby!"

"Whoa!" Al said, approaching in obvious awe.

Becca leaned back against the wood and she shut her eyes once more, though that couldn't last long given Ed's excitement. He bounded over, shaking her shoulder. "How can you sleep right now! That's a  _ baby _ !"

"Oh, believe me, I know," Becca mumbled, smiling softly.

"That's awesome!" he crowed as he tugged her to her feet. She gave a weak groan of protest till She could drop her head onto his shoulder and close her eyes again. Thoroughly unswayed, he continued to bounce frenetically on his toes and chant, "Awesome, awesome, awesome!"

"Any other brilliant insight?" Winry asked sardonically.

“Hey, it is awesome!” Ed defended. “It’s the start of a new life! Alchemists have tried for centuries to replicate what a human body can do in 9 months! What am I supposed to call that other than awesome?”

Hovering near Winry, Al added, "Yeah, good job, Satera! And congratulations, to both of you!”

“I’m glad one of you can act mature about this whole thing,” Winry said, then, to Ed, “You can’t just compare the miracle of birth to alchemy.”

“Call it an occupational hazard,” Ed said, lowering his voice significantly, almost reverent in his tone. “But still. The baby’s awesome. People are awesome.”

“They’re pretty great,” Ridel said. “You did amazing, sweetheart. And you were great, girls.”

“Winry came through,” Becca replied bashfully. “I just did what she told me.”

The blonde smiled sweetly. “I did my best.”

“We should get out of your hair,” Al said to the little family. “Let you have a little time alone. Is there anything else you need?”

“No, thank you,” Satera said tiredly, stroking the baby’s wispy hair. She beamed up at them. “Make yourselves comfortable for the night, alright?”

“Um, guys?”

“Here, Winry, I’ve got you,” Al assured, scooping her up easily. “We’ll find Paninya and make sure she’s okay too.” He bowed slightly to the LeCoultes and offered, “Have a good night.”

“You as well,” Ridel said, gazing adoringly down at his baby. “And thank you so much for everything.”

\---

As it turned out, there weren’t many places in the house where five teenagers could easily congregate, so they all ended up sprawled out in the living room. Ed and Al still seemed rather restless, Paninya was recovering from the whole ordeal, and Winry had ended up more sore than tired. For her part, Becca was pretty much at the point where she could not force her eyes open any longer and wound up dozing on Ed’s shoulder while he and Winry conversed in low voices.

“I really am sorry I looked in your watch.”

Ed let out a short breath. “I can’t fault you for being curious.” There was a long pause, and then Ed shifted under her and frantically demanded, “What are you doing that for? There’s nothing to cry about!”

“You two never cry,” Winry said indignantly. “So I’ll cry for both of you, alright?”

Becca felt Ed slump moodily into the couch cushions. He reached over, adjusting Becca’s head so she wasn’t nearly lolling off of him, and harrumphed. “Yeah, okay.”

“And,” Winry continued as if he hadn’t spoken, “I know what I have to do now.”

“Go home to Granny?” Ed said distractedly.

“No,” she said pointedly. “If you, Al, and Becca are going to keep travelling, getting stronger, getting hurt, and probably breaking my automail again and again, I have to stay here so I can learn and be ready to help when you need me. When Mr. Dominic gets home, I’m going to ask him to take me on as an apprentice one more time.”

If she wasn’t on the brink of unconsciousness, Becca might have thought Ed’s hand lingered maneuvering her shoulder, brushing against the forget-me-nots resting on the top corner of her back. “Good luck,” he said earnestly. Then he moved his hand, resting it on her outer arm and Becca could practically see his crooked smile as he squeezed, the comforting gesture completely unthinking on his part.

Becca was too out of it to even flush, a slight relief, so she just smiled softly before finally allowing herself to sink into sleep with the gut feeling that they would all be okay come the morning.

\---

“Why the hell are you all sleeping?” Dominic shouted, slamming the door open.

They- meaning Winry, Ed, Becca, Paninya, and even Al, not asleep but definitely spaced out- visibly startled. Paninya even yelped and fell backwards off of the cushioned stool she’d claimed, right onto Winry’s lap. Becca and Ed knocked heads as they both tried to sit up too quickly from where they’d nodded off, Becca on Ed’s shoulder and his head atop hers, and they reeled away, each wincing.

“My grandchild is in the process of being born-”

“Your grandkid’s already born, old man,” Ed grunted, still clutching the side of his head. 

“-and you’re all just- huh?”

“Winry, Becca, and Paninya helped deliver the baby!” Al explained.

The doctor trailing behind Dominic paused, glancing around at the three girls. “You mean that you managed to-?”

“You mean I became a grandpa and I missed it?” Dominic demanded. 

Paninya pointed over her shoulder to the bedroom. “They’re just resting in there. They might be asleep, though.”

He shoved past them and dragged the poor doctor along with him. Too wired to go back to sleep, the other five ambled after them, crowding together in the doorway whilst the doctor checked in with Satera and Dominic (in a rather sudden switch of personality) fawned over the baby, who had been pronounced to be in perfect health before Dominc was allowed to hold him. The old man ran his finger down the baby’s face reverently until he started to cry. Maybe it was because of the exhaustion, but against Becca’s will, a small, fond smile fought its way to the surface at the pure, unadulterated love for the rest of his little family in his eyes. Someone bumped into her shoulder and she looked over to see that Ed had leaned against the doorway next to her spot on the wall, a similarly soft grin on his face.

“It  _ is _ awesome,” he said adamantly.

Becca blinked until his insistent tone clicked and a tiny laugh slipped out when she made the connection to his discussion with Winry earlier. Then she wrapped an arm around him and squeezed, agreeing, “It is.”

Dominic handed the baby back to Satera when the infant started to whine and turned to them. “I suppose I ought to thank you for bringing my grandson into the world,” he said, wiping his eyes. “Especially you, blondie.”

“O-oh, it was nothing! There’s no need to thank me!” Winry rushed out, waving her hands dismissively. 

Ed elbowed her in the side with a pointed cough, only to receive a firm glare in return, although that predictably didn’t dissuade him from suggesting, “Perhaps to repay her, you could make an exception to your no-apprentice policy? So she can learn how to make me taller-?”  
“Beat it, flea,” the old man grumbled. “Those are two different matters. I still don’t need an apprentice.”

Any warmth Becca had for the man vanished pretty quickly.  _ Poor Winry, _ she thought, seeing her practically wilt at Dominic’s second rejection.

“-But,” the man continued, holding up a finger, “if you’re serious about staying here and learning, I’ll introduce you to a good mechanic down in town who I’m sure would take you on.”

Winry brightened up at once. “Really?”

Dominic shrugged. “I do still owe you for all the help you gave to my family.”

“Can I still come up here and watch you work, even if I’m not an apprentice?” she asked eagerly.

Reluctantly, Dominic grunted, then stated, “Don’t come up here and disturb me.” He peered over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow. “But if you come up with Paninya to visit my grandson, I can’t stop you.” He waved haphazardly at the rest of them. “The other brats are welcome as well.”

But… did that mean…?

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” Winry exclaimed, bounding over and squeezing Dominic, then pulled away before he could push her off.

“Alright, settle down,” Dominic groused. “The storm’s finally let up, but I don’t trust our luck that we’ll be able to make it down the mountain in the dark again, so you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to get back to town.” He bent back over the baby, tickling under his chin and cooing, “And I want to spend some time with my grandson before heading out again!”

“Yes, sir!” Winry chirped, still buzzing with excitement. With a frankly inordinate amount of strength, she effortlessly grabbed Becca and Ed by their collars in one hand and Al’s wrist in the other and dragged all three of them out of the bedroom (much to Ed’s chagrin), leaving Paninya to scamper behind. “Goodnight!”

Once they were out of hearing range, Winry lost any modicum of control and squealed, twirling joyfully around in the center of the living room. Ed wrestled himself out of her grip, tugged Becca with him, and collapsed back onto the couch with her, both their limbs splayed over the other person but neither one bothered. Luckily, Winry didn’t seem to miss them, quickly looping Paninya into her celebrations with Al in their place.

“Quiet down,” snapped Ed, dropping his head straight back onto the back of the couch. “We’ll have to get up early tomorrow and the old guy already woke us all up once.”

Winry, still grinning, flopped into an armchair, hugging a little throw pillow to her chest. “I don’t want to go to sleep,” she hummed. “I’m afraid I’ll wake up and this all would have been a dream.”

“Here,” Ed grumbled. He reached across the expanse between the armchair and the couch and, when Winry reached back, he pinched her wrist. She yelped and promptly hit him back before he could pull his hand back. “Ow!” he whined. “At least now you know you’re not dreaming! Now go to bed!”

“Stop arguing, you two,” Al chastised gently, sitting firmly between Ed and Winry. “Brother’s right, you’ll all have to wake up early tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Becca mumbled as she snuggled further into her side of the couch, “you can continue this then.”

Both teens crossed their arms, basically pouting, but leaned back. Becca saw Ed’s eyelids flutter as he himself relaxed into the cushions and she automatically stretched her legs out over his lap, one of his hands coming to rest on her shin. Outside, a chorus of frogs could be heard over the dull thumping of the rain on the roof, a natural lullaby carrying Becca into the deep abyss of sleep.

\---

“Damn that old man, waking us up last night!” Ed swore, picking up the pace as they sprinted down the platform to catch the train they’d only slightly overslept to miss.

Al made the first leap with the luggage (although it was really more of a sidestep with his large gait).

“Be careful!” Winry shouted as she jogged along behind them with Paninya..

“Yeah, yeah, we will!” Ed jumped, landing safely as well.

“Have a safe trip!”

“We will!” Becca assured.

The end of the platform was getting dangerously close as Ed reached back for Becca and called, “Come on, Bex!”

Her feet left the ground right as the wooden floor dropped off, weightless for a few seconds before Ed’s hand was gripping hers tight and she was stumbling onto the train. She glanced up, exchanging a breathless smile with him, then let out a small, “Oh!” and twirled around to wave to the two girls staying in Rush Valley. “Bye, Paninya! See you soon, Win!”

“Don’t forget to call Granny and keep her updated!” Ed reminded, leaning over the caboose’s railing. “And steal some tricks from the old man, yeah? Keep making my automail better and better!”

Winry’s laugh managed to carry on the wind to them even over the rumbling of the train on the tracks and she snarkily replied, “You mean,  _ my _ automail, jackass!”

“Whatever!” Ed snickered. “Just make sure it’s great!”

Winry skidded to a stop at the end of the platform, raising her hand in farewell, grinning brightly. “Leave it to me!”

“Bye!” Al shouted, then teased, “I’m sure we’ll be back soon!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you and your loved ones are staying healthy and safe, and i'll see you all in the next update! -c


End file.
